To New Heights
by Sarruby
Summary: Alex has gone on a life-changing mission and lost his part of his humanity; Ben is assigned as his handler. How will they both cope with these changes? No Maximum Ride characters.
1. Mission

AN: This fic will be moved to the Alex Rider Crossover section when the "special parts" are introduced, but only Alex Rider characters and original characters will appear.

Disclaimer: I am using a trite plot, so I don't own anything!

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In Arlington, Virginia, a small town just across the way from Washington D.C., "The GenoSchool" loomed high over Alex Rider. He looked up, analyzing his summer school for any sign of danger- cameras, guards, even windows with people- but none were obvious. The tall apartment building was supposed to house a school, but there wasn't much about it that was school-like. There was only grass in front of the tall, gleaming metallic walls, and there wasn't a sign.

Alex stepped up to the sliding door and walked through the automatic machinery into a brightly light lobby. A receptionist looked up from behind a polished office-like granite desk.

"Hello, sir. How may I help you?"

"I'm Alex Richardson. My mum signed me up for summer school here. Would you happen to have a room for me?"

"Hold on," the secretary mumbled as she began to riffle through a folder. "Here's your room key; room 1313, on the thirteenth floor, of course."

Alex shivered, though he wasn't superstitious in the slightest. "Thank you, ma'am."

He climbed into the elevator, hoping for the best.

-------

Three weeks later, Alex found himself in yet another dull, boring biology class. It was just like Brookland High School, but it had more emphasis on science- especially genetics.

The teacher called Alex's attention back to the class. Although there were new speakers- a group of genetic engineers or something like that- Alex couldn't bring himself to care.

"Alex? Alex Richardson! Stay after class, young man- I just got a notice from the office for you. For now, pay attention to the guests." Alex jumped in his seat and complied, much to the laughter of his few friends.

The old balding man continued. "Ahem. As I was saying, bacteria's plasmids are often used in..." and he droned on.

When the bell rang, Alex stayed in his seat. Some of his friends jeered at him, while others looked on in sympathy before leaving.

The old man spoke to him, getting straight to the point. "Alex, would you like to be a part of our experiments?"

"I'm sorry? What?" Alex was wary, but there was no reason to be.

His younger female assistant said in a soft tone, "Mr. Hemmingway meant to ask for a DNA sample. A lock of hair would be fine."

"Why me?"

"Judging by your features, you seem to have a kind of DNA we'd like to be able to emulate in our lab experiments." Flattering.

"Um, I guess that's alright." Alex allowed her to take a small lock of hair. It was zipped up into a plastic baggie and sealed away in another bag.

The teacher spoke again. "Now, Alex, there are more pressing matters to move on to. Such as your unorthodox methods of calling home. Or should I say MI6?"

Alex feigned ignorance, now extremely wary. "I'm sorry? Whatever do you mean?"

The Mr. Hemmingway, the old man, ignored Alex's ploy. "Mr. Alex Rider, we have been investigating you a bit ever since we saw you do this, just one week ago." The projector, still running, switched to a video of Alex in his room.

The video showed him dial a phone number, hang up, dial again, and hang up once more before dialing the same number. The Alex on the video then cussed and dialed a different number- the audio revealed him saying, "Why won't you let me call Jack? I've already been here two weeks, and it's just a b***** school! I've done what you've asked already!" The displayed Alex then listened for a moment before snapping the cell phone shut and cussing again. It ended.

The real Alex looked at the video, trying to think of an excuse. "There's no need, Mr. Rider," said Mr. Hemmingway, guessing Alex's intentions. "I already know all about you- your MI6 involvement, specifically.

"I can understand why MI6 was so concerned, but I think they've gone a bit too far this time. Sending in a child-agent? Good grief!

"Well, Mr. Rider, as the director of this school"- Alex blinked before recalling that bit of information from his less-than-adequate briefing-"I hold the right to expel you at anytime. Now, of course, you're a special case.

"You see, MI6 would very soon try to arrest us and bring down our operation if your surveillance revealed any funny business- _especially_ if you were mysteriously expelled. So, Mr. Rider, I will show you everything in hopes that you'll put in a good word for my school and laboratories."

Alex tried one more time. "I don't know what you're talking about, sir. My name is Alex Richardson, not Alex Rider." Even if his cover was blown, it didn't seem like the man wanted to hurt him, but even so...

The teacher and the young woman snickered, but the old man continued without noticing. "Well, then, Mr. Richardson, I would like to give you a quick tour of our," he paused, "underground facilities, shall we say?" The man turned to the young woman. "And do run the test quickly, dear."

She scampered off while Alex and the two adults headed for the elevator.

-------

It wasn't a tour. It was a trap. It took Alex all of thirty seconds to realize that once the young woman returned with a vicious smile in the middle of his tour. She was the first unusual thing for Alex to see- the tour was completely suspicion-free, just like any normal laboratory- gray walls, testing areas, test tubes and beakers, scientists.

"Yes, sir. He's got 98.9% compatible DNA." Compatible?

Mr. Hemmingway grinned. "Then, Alex, you really ought to join us."

"No, thank you. I'd like to go home."

Mr. Hemmingway's smile tarnished, but he plowed on. "Have you ever wondered what it'd be like to run as fast as a cheetah? Or to talk like a parrot? Or to fly, even?"

"I've had my share of aeroplane rides."

"We've realized the human dream: to be more than we are. You see, Alex, we have been researching a specific pair of topics in science: viruses and genetic engineering.

"A virus is a small bundle of deoxyribonucleic acid enshrouded in protein. It lands on a cell and injects its contents into the cell. The DNA of the cell, or the instructions for that cell's productions, is overwritten by the virus's RNA. RNA is a special type of nucleic acid- oh dear, am I confusing you? Well, in essence, the virus's RNA is what enters the cell, and the cell rewrites its own DNA with the new RNA instructions. The cell then does whatever the new DNA tells it to; for most natural viruses, the new DNA tells the cell to reproduce the virus. Our specially engineered one is a bit different.

"Genetic engineering is key to our operations. We've figured out the genetic coding for numerous animals and humans- yours is one of a kind, may I add; it has all the right codes for our enzymes. Anyhow, have you heard of recombinant DNA? Basically, that bacteria plasmid, or the bacteria's circular DNA, that I told you about in class is cut up by our enzymes and mixed with other DNA to be reconstructed into new sequences. The bacteria can then manufacture what we please."

Alex tried to look less nervous than he felt. "I don't see what this has to do with me. If you don't mind, I'd like to be on my merry way home."

Mr. Hemmingway chuckled darkly. "Oh no, Alex. It has everything to do with you. Your DNA has the perfect sequences for a few new combinations we've been dying to try. We'd love to change your DNA a bit- with our salamander's coding for tail regeneration, we can even make you new limbs! Other kids have loved what we've done; I'm certain you will too."

"Mutating really isn't my thing." But alas, Alex was given no choice. A hypodermic needle had crept up behind him in the hands of a mad scientist, and he plunged into darkness.

-------

Alex stirred, finding himself sitting in a small cage- it couldn't have been more than a meter in any dimension. Slowly, Alex recalled the last few hour's events.

Dredged up, the memories brought no comfort- nor explanation for the furious burning in his shoulder blades and other places, nor the high fever he felt. But all was not lost- the young female from before was watching him wake up.

"Oh my, you're quite the early riser." Alex couldn't bring himself to do much other than glare. "Not feeling well, are we? Well, that's to be expected. We've already deployed our newest virus-prototype into you; your body is doing its very best to fight off what it thinks is a new attacker. Ah- but no worries. Once every one of your cells is altered to the new sequence, the virus won't have any effect.

"Until then, unfortunately, I'm going to have to help that virus out. I'm your handler, Alex, and I'll be giving you medicine every twelve hours. Call me Susanne."

Alex shifted a bit so that the floor of the cage- also made of bars- wasn't pressed so hard into his thigh. "Why the cage?"

The young woman smiled- it was a sickening sight. "Well, Alex, you know we know a good deal about you. That cage has been welded shut so that you can't possibly get out without our help- you're entirely dependent on us, and you will be for the next nine weeks or so. We'll send you home when the summer school's over, and we know you won't tell anyone what's happened here- society would reject you, you know."

"I don't know what you mean." Alex did have a fairly good idea, but that didn't mean he had to agree with the woman. Society would probably reject or otherwise scrutinize a mutant- especially if he was one-of-a-kind.

"You do- or you will. Tomorrow I'll review your progress, if you're still alive."

"If?"

Susanne gave Alex a concerned look. "Alex, your very cells are changing. Inside of you, right now, there's a war between your human cells and the new ones, hence the fever. If your will to live isn't strong enough, I'm afraid that it'll be a stalemate.

"Good night, Alex. Get some rest."

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AN: I'm not going into detail about what mutations Alex gets until at least two chapters in so that I can keep the story in the AR fandom.

Sorry if this is a bit dull, but I plan to pick up the pace.

_**Please do not review**_.

1. I have not been reviewing others' fics, though I have read them.

2. I won't reply.

3. The "Story Traffic" page will tell me how many people visited this, and I can reasonably infer that extra hits to this page are people who are returning to reread because they liked it.

Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it!


	2. Adoption

_The sharp, pointed needle rose again, threatening to puncture Alex's arm. Remembering the pain from before- that abnormal burn in his shoulders- Alex cowered; it was a pitiful sight. Right then, Alex could not be considered remotely lucid, for his feverish mind could barely formulate a bare sentence.  
_

_The needle, filled with a neon yellow substance, poked a small hole and emptied its contents. The fire in his back was overwhelming, and Alex hissed. He tried to move further away, but the metal bars of the cage restrained his attempts. _

_"It's alright, sh-sh," Susanne's voice murmured into his ear. "Once they grow, it won't hurt anymore, sweetie."  
_

_As if. _

-------

Ben looked at the unconscious child in the white-washed bed beside him. Alex was mildly unhappy, apparently in the throes of a nightmare. Sadly, Ben was the only one left for Alex- Jack had betrayed Alex after seeing the "transformation". Even Alan Blunt had looked shocked out of his mind. Ben had yet to see this new development.

Delicately, he reached out and stroked the blond boy's head, recalling what a pale Blunt and an ashen Mrs. Jones had told him.

-------

_"Good evening, Agent Daniels," Mrs. Jones greeted him in a soft, nervous voice. "How are you?"_

_"Fine, thank you. And you?" _

_Blunt ignored the common courteous exchange in favor of addressing the matter at hand. "You remember Alex Rider." _

_"Yes."_

_"He was sent on a mission to investigate a genetic-engineering facility in America. Reports of unusual sightings around it drew our attention, and opportunity presented itself."_

_"How so, sir?"_

_Mrs. Jones frowned and let Blunt continue. "The reports revolved around animal-like children. Some said their children, upon returning, grew extremely territorial; some learned to pounce, and others started hunting in the woods for food. Others still seemed to have enhanced abilities, such as running at extreme speeds or eating at abnormal rates. Some of the children never returned home at all.  
_

_"Many of the identified ones had signed up for a program known as 'The GenoSchool'. Upon deeper investigation, it was determined that the 'School' was importing a variety of genes- bird, turtle, insect, even feline DNA. The excuse for this activity was simple; in the GenoSchool's brochure, it listed science as one of its key courses in the curriculum, so it was thought that these genes were for studying. We were not so certain.  
_

_"The Americans found nothing too suspicious, and thought we were overreacting. Disappeared children were accounted for in documents, apparently, but we could find no solid evidence- no pictures, no family sightings. However, British children were being invited to this program, and we could not let these anomalies slide.  
_

_"Alex Rider was on holiday over the summer, we thought that his attending "The GenoSchool"'s summer program might provide military intelligence with a few hints."_

_"You sent Alex Rider into this mess." Ben wasn't asking; he was stating the facts._

_Mrs. Jones took over. "Of course, there were risks involved, but there simply was no choice. All the staff were carefully screened, to the point of truth serum usage. We had tried to send in several agents, but they were all rejected._

_"Alex Rider was the perfect age- 15. His grades were good once more, and he met all the qualifications for the summer program. It was the logical choice."_

_Blunt furthered the story. "As I am sure you are aware, it's the beginning of winter. Alex was sent in at the beginning of summer. During his stay, messages came in steadily, but there were a few suspicions that they were not written by Alex himself. It was unfortunate that these suspicions were not brought to our attention sooner._

_"Nonetheless, Alex seemed to return safely at the end of the camp. He came back on the plane, and the retrieving agent reported only one anomaly- Alex was unusually fidgety in small spaces. It could very well be that he's claustrophobic. He was quiet, too, but that's to be expected._

_"In autumn, Jack Starbright was moved into a psychiatric ward. It seemed that Alex's transformations from his last mission unsettled her deeply. This is recording of one her last statements.." Blunt pulled out a tape recorder.  
_

_In a serious voice, Jack was heard from the small device. "My Lord Alex, how may I please thee?" There was silence. "Or should I say my little mutant angel, sent up from h***?" She cackled. A brief scuffled sounded, and the recording ended.  
_

_Ben frowned. "Mutants?"_

_Mrs. Jones paled immensely, but her expression otherwise remained stoic. "Yes, mutants. Of course, we had no idea what she meant. Alex was not given a medical before because there were no reports of anything during his stay that might have inflicted injury- not even something to warrant a deeper investigation of the GenoSchool. When we found out about Jack, we pulled him in for one. The results were astounding... Needless to say, we informed the CIA that there were issues with the GenoSchool, and they shut it down." _

_Blunt held up a faintly quivering hand. "Never mind that; we highly doubt you would believe us if we told you the details. The question we have for you is whether or not you'd be willing to take over Alex's guardianship; we need someone with knowledge of Alex and some clearance to handle him, as well as someone who can deal with unusual circumstances. Preferably someone who also likes animals and knows how to handle them."_

_Ben swallowed, mulling it over. Alex was a nice kid, but Ben was only 23; and he was busy with his job and whatnot. Still, Blunt and Jones wouldn't have asked him specifically unless they thought he could do it. "I suppose it'd be alright, sir."_

_Mrs. Jones sighed, relieved. "Very well, then. Alex is currently at London's Veterinary Hospital. He has been there since Ms. Starbright left him, sedated when necessary once we found the... issues he had. You'll legally be known as Alex's guardian, but it might be more appropriate to call you his handler. Homeschooling will be necessary until Alex can adapt to his changes."_

_Ben swallowed. It looked like he'd just have to find out what was going on._

-------

Ben, lost in his thoughts, didn't notice Alex stirring. Why was Alex in an animal's hospital? Why was clearance required? What was with the genes at the-

"Ben?"

Said man jumped, shaking the temporary bed. "A-Alex, you're awake!" Alex stared at him. "Um, do you happen to know when you were last at home?"

"Early September, but they've let me move about at least once a day." For the first time, Ben noticed that Alex's voice was a little higher and a bit squeakier than the last time he'd met him.

"It's late October. Mrs. Jones and Mr. Blunt said you were sedated a bit." Alex frowned darkly at the true statement. "I was asked to become your guardian."

Alex blinked, dropping the frown in confusion. "You accepted?"

"Yes."

"You don't know." It was no more than a whisper, and something in Alex's face changed. Ben recalled that his last guardian had utterly rejected him for whatever changes had occurred during his summer holiday at "The GenoSchool".

Instead of straight-out agreeing with the simple fact, Ben twisted his words. "I'm not afraid to find out. Mrs. Jones and Mr. Blunt asked me to find the truth from you." It wasn't strictly the truth, but close enough.

Alex sat up, pushing the covers down to his hips; he was wearing a black sweatshirt, a brown t-shirt and navy blue jeans. Ben shifted so that he, while still on the bedside, could better face Alex. "I can't tell you, Ben. Sorry." Jack Starbright's madness was caused by exactly what Ben wanted to know about; Alex didn't want Ben to reject him too. At the very least, Alex was grateful that MI6 hadn't quietly eliminated him nor sent him into a lab for experimentation. They had only taken a few blood samples and left it at that.

"Alex, I know about Jack." Alex looked down; Jack was still a sore point. "I'm not going to go mad."

"Do you practice a religion?" What?

Ben was silent, and Alex glanced up. "Do you?"

"No."

Alex looked back at the bedspread. He was a far cry different from the boy Ben had met on the Snakehead mission: disconnected socially, fearful, distant, and maybe a tad lonely. "Good."

"Well?" Alex looked puzzled. "Are you going to show me? Our bosses hinted at mutation, but they never explicitly said what." Alex had paled at the word 'mutation', and didn't respond for a full minute.

"They're not my bosses."

Ben sighed. "Well, I'm taking you home now, at the very least." Slowly, Alex nodded and moved to leave, grabbing a bag from the corner of the room.

Ben walked first out of the room, and Alex followed quietly behind him.

-------

As Ben made for the exit with Alex close behind, a doctor stopped them. "Excuse me, Mr. Daniels?"

"Yes?"

"Could you come over here for a minute? We need to discuss..." The doctor trailed off at at loss for words. There were other customers in the room, and he couldn't let the secrets slip. Ben caught on and nodded.

In the office beside the waiting room, the doctor motioned for Ben and Alex to take seats opposite his desk. "Please, don't be afraid. It's just a few housekeeping matters."

Ben glanced at Alex. "Like what?"

"If he needs washing, just use water on 'those parts'. If he gets oily and needs help, use Dawn soap on the feathers- mild and unscented is preferable. You'll want to use lukewarm water for the hands, too- stay away from alcoholic soaps if you can."

Ben inquired, "Feathers?" but Alex cut him off.

"Thank you, doctor. We'll be on our way."

The doctor stopped them once more. "Alex, he doesn't know, does he? You've got to tell him. Promise me you'll tell him by tonight, alright?" Alex mildly glared at the doctor before nodding. He stood and left the room, but the doctor stopped Ben just as he was about to leave.

The smaller man pulled Ben closer, as if there were a conspiracy. "You should know this- Alex purrs when he's content or injured. And he likes to be rubbed underneath them, right where they connect." Alex glanced back at the two and paused by the exit. "Better hurry along now, or Alex might get suspicious. Come back if you have any questions, alright? Farewell, now." The doctor released Ben.

Ben took Alex to his car, carefully eying his back, but there weren't any noticeable deformities- not that the baggy sweater helped him see.

Ben had his own suspicions now- but were they correct?

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AN: Please don't review.

Thanks!


	3. Discovery

About a quarter of an hour later, Ben pulled into the driveway of his apartment building. Alex got out silently, and Ben led the way into the 5 story structure.

"Hi, Lisa. This is Alex," Ben told the secretary in the lobby. "He's my adopted son now. Could you please update the records?" Lisa nodded and turned her her computer.

Meanwhile, Alex was studying the lobby, head almost twitching from side to side. It wasn't large like a hotel's, but it was welcoming and endearing in its own way. Cream-colored flooring and walls reflected the gentle florescent lighting nicely, and dark brown furniture accent the room.

"Alex, let's go." Alex's head snapped around abnormally fast to study Ben before glancing down, subdued, and nodding slightly. He followed Ben into the elevator.

On the way up, Alex shivered violently in a spasm, but it ended quickly. "Alex? Are you cold?"

Alex nodded minutely as he turned away, but he jumped when Ben's warm jacket was placed on his shoulders. He stared wide-eyed at Ben for a moment before pulling the jacket more tightly around him and quietly muttering, "Thanks."

The elevator stopped at the fifth floor, and they stepped out.

-------

Inside of his apartment, Ben quickly gestured to the various doorways after having Alex hang his coats on the coat stand. Strangely enough, Alex had kept his sweater on- Ben didn't call him on it. "Here's the living room, sitting room or entrance; any name suits it, really. There's the kitchen, and you can see the bedroom through the doorway on the right. The bathroom's next to it. Four rooms, that's it." The rooms were connected in a U-shape with the bathroom and entrance at either end with the bedroom nearest the bathroom. It was small, yet very homey.

Alex glanced around the entrance warily. "You have a female cat."

Ben startled. "Uh, yeah. I do. Her name's Phoenix, or Nix for short. She's an indoor cat." Ben carefully glanced around the kitchen, looking for evidence of the cat. The food plate was in the kitchen cupboard, and he had cleaned the shed hairs off of all the furniture, not to mention the litter box in the bathroom. "How'd you know?"

Alex looked at him before glancing down and starting to speak, but Ben cut him off. "Alex, when you're talking to me, I want you to look at me." To emphasize the point, he reached out and tilted the boy's head up. "We're friends or at least equals, if not father-and-son now."

Wary, distrustful eyes searched his face before the lips moved to speak in a quiet, almost nervous tone. "I smelled her."

"Ah." Ben grinned, trying to break the tension. "Come in; you should meet Nix."

They moved to the bedroom. There was one bed- a twin size-, a nightstand on either side of it, and a couch at the foot of the bed next to the bathroom door. A closet lined the wall, situated next to a dresser. Nix was curled up on the end of the couch and didn't stir when the pair entered.

Ben pointed at the wall. "This room and the bathroom are the only two that have windows." He walked between the bed and the couch to open it. Outside, London was illuminated by the street lights and neon signs. A night breeze blew in, and Nix woke up. Ben turned around to face Alex from across the room.

"Lie face-up on the bed- I've got a surprise for you." Ben smiled reassuringly, and Alex made a pitiful attempt to return it. He then lay down on the bed- both had removed their shoes at the entrance.

"Close your eyes. Relax, and hold still." Alex hesitated, then followed the instructions.

A few seconds later, Alex snapped his eyes open when he felt a couple paws against his chest, tensing his body. "Alex, Nix is friendly. Relax- you're going to be living with her, and she is one heck of a lap-cat, never mind when you try to sleep. She's going to be all over both of us." Ben lowered the feline the rest of the way and let go.

The cat and Alex had a long staring contest- Alex petrified and Nix curious- before Nix purred, glanced down, and started kneading Alex's chest; Alex held perfectly still, not daring to breathe. After a few more paw-pressings, she too lay down on the bed, if indirectly. Alex had barely moved throughout the entire session.

Ben watched this interaction carefully. "Alex, Nix doesn't bite. I want you to pet her- get used to her, you know? You can breathe, at the very least." He was trying not to sound too harsh, but Alex seemed to take it as an order, delicately but haltingly drawing his hand across the smaller mammal. The movement elicited another louder purr from the cat, and Alex seemed to tense more. Ben sighed quietly, and with Nix as a distraction, Alex missed it.

"I'm going to the kitchen to heat up supper. Be nice, alright?" Ben crossed the room into the kitchen, sparing a glance at Alex. Alex stopped him.

"Please get her off me," Alex pleaded, faintly. "Please, Ben." Ben inspected Alex's eyes carefully; now Alex was staring at him, his hand frozen like stone above the cat. "Please."

Ben analyzed him, a bit uncertain. Something near terror was etched into Alex's features, as if it were instinctual for him to fear cats. It was unusual for Alex, or any kid to dislike the furry creature- most people loved Nix's calm, friendly manner. What reason did Alex have to dislike the sociable cat? Ben had a good guess, and now he was going to find out.

"I'll move her to the couch, provided that you tell me why you fear her so."

Alex swallowed nervously, eying the cat before nodding minutely, not entirely aware that he had just agreed to fearing the small mammal. Ben carried out his half of the agreement, placing Nix back onto the couch. "Well?"

Alex sat up and hopped off the bed. "Could we eat first?" Surprisingly, his voice was slightly shaky. Ben raised his eyebrows. He nodded his consent.

They moved into the kitchen, leaving a disgruntled Nix on the couch behind the door.

-------

The centered small table was surrounded by a pair of wooden chairs with just a backing. The cupboards were stacked under and over the sink on the walls opposite the doors. The refrigerator stood in a corner.

Ben placed a bunch of chicken nuggets into the toaster oven and threw some broccoli into the microwave. Alex had taken a seat already, and Ben sat down opposite him. For a few tense moments, neither spoke.

"Well?"

"We haven't eaten." Ben nodded and conceded. They sat for another long minute in silence before the microwave dinged. Ben stood and placed the bowl on the table, then seemed to remember there were two of them.

"Oh- plates. Right." Ben scuttled around the kitchen, grabbing the necessary utensils and dishes. "What would you like to drink, Alex? There's milk, tea, and orange juice in the fridge."

"Water's fine."

Almost as soon as Ben had set the table, the toaster oven went off. He hustled to dish out the nuggets, and the two ate in silence. When they were both finished, Ben gave Alex a long, searching look before telling him to put the dishes into the sink.

Once everything was cleaned up, they were left sitting across from each other, both unwilling to break the silence. It could only last so long, though.

"Alright, Alex. Could you please tell me whatever the big secret is?"

"Do I have to?"

"If you want to keep living here, yes."

Alex smiled grimly, thinking that he'd end up leaving no matter what- Ben would reject him for what he was, or he'd kick him out for keeping secrets. He liked Ben, though, so he thought he might as well satisfy his curiosity. "Haven't you guessed already?"

Ben smiled warmly, but a hint of sadness was evident in his eyes. For what reason, Alex didn't know. "I have my own guesses, yes, but I don't know if they're correct."

Alex dropped the smile, however unhappy it had been, but still looked Ben in the eye. "What are they?"

"Well, Mr. Blunt and Mrs. Jones mentioned a genetic engineering school, and they had me listen to a tape of Jack." He paused, recalling all the hints. "She said you were an angel, from hell if I recall. And then there was the doctor- he mentioned feathers.

"Maybe your skin is partially made of feathers now? Perhaps the GenoSchool modified some of your skin cells- then you'd have to deal with feathering skin. If you had bird genes, it might also explain why you're so afraid of Nix. She's not going to hurt you, you know."

Ben paused, thinking for a second or two. "You might also have some cat DNA in you. It'd make sense, considering that the doctor said you purr." Alex raised his eyebrows for a moment before Ben continued. "Still, that won't explain why he said to wash your hands carefully- they look perfectly normal. Nor does it explain why he said you liked to be... rubbed, was it? near where something connects. Maybe he meant the base of your feathers."

Alex nodded his head solemnly in agreement with Ben's deductions.

Alex looked at Ben, then closed his eyes. "Almost, but not quite." Alex opened his eyes to study the patterns of the wooden table, thinking quietly for a moment. "I just want to say thanks, though, for your kindness, the food. You know." Alex swallowed. "In case I leave."

Ben leaned across the table and tilted Alex's head up again. "Alex, you're not leaving. It's my _job_ to take care of you right now." Alex emptily faced him, seeming to be ignoring Ben's words. "Alex, believe me."

Said child simply watched him, not bothering to remove the hand from his chin. "I really do like you, Ben, if that'll mean anything to you after this."

Ben took a deep breath, trying his very best not explode from frustration; judging from Alex's current personality, he'd probably bolt if Ben were furious. "Alex, you promised the doctor you'd tell me before tonight, and you promised to tell me when I moved Nix for you. Now spill."

Alex didn't meet Ben's gaze as he shed his sweatshirt. It flimsily lay on the chair behind him. Alex swallowed, and Ben's hand- still resting on Alex's chin- picked up the nervous tick.

Slowly, to Ben's eternal astonishment whenever he reminisced about this moment, Alex barely tensed his shoulders, and the most amazing of sights revealed itself in Ben's small kitchen.

Large, solid-black wings extended from either side with a wingspan larger than the room's width.

-------

AN: Eek! I liked this chapter, and I hope you did too. I looked up the "lie, lay, lain, laid"grammatical mess- it's such a pain! English, get easier- pretty please!

It's now a CROSSOVER with _MAXIMUM RIDE_! (Although you've probably guessed, but, if I may reiterate, there will be no appearance of _Maximum Ride_ characters.)

**Please do not review.**


	4. Settle

Silences can be friendly, comforting, distressing, or just plain awkward. "Awkward" was probably the best word for this situation.

Ben still had his hand on Alex's chin, and although Alex wasn't looking at him directly, he was carefully taking in Ben's reaction to the wings that were spread out behind him. All in all, Ben had frozen and widened his eyes, but done nothing else.

Alex, for a change, broke the silence. "Should I leave?"

Ben swallowed, reversing their personalities completely by shaking his head vigorously. Even though he was trying to look Alex in the eye, but it was evident that his wings were an excellent distraction.

Alex stood, gently brushing Ben's hand aside, and snapped his wings shut. His face betrayed a quiet anger. "Should the freak sleep on the floor?" Ben blinked and swallowed again, realizing that Alex felt singled out as inhuman by his ogling. Still at a loss for words, Ben shook his head again. "Well, Ben, aren't we quiet?" Alex smiled, but it didn't come near his eyes; his eyes showed a small, angry fire fueled by the stares and inhuman treatment he received often now, yet there was an emotion hidden behind those flames that yearned almost in vain for something.

"A-Alex, you," Ben hesitated, and Alex waited impatiently, "have got to understand where I'm coming from. It's rather..." Ben paused again, searching for the right word.

Alex supplied a few. "Abnormal? Mutant? Freakish? Bird-y? Or maybe just plain inhuman!"

"...surprising." Alex rolled his eyes, then shut them, drawing in a deep, steadying breath and sat down again.

"I'm sorry. My anger's not for you- not specifically." Deflated, Alex looked smaller than before, and Ben seemed to snap out of his shocked trance- he wasn't MI6 for nothing.

"Alex, I'm sorry. I was caught off guard, you see, but I can understand how you feel." Alex snorted. "Alright, maybe not to the same degree, but I've been singled out before too."

Alex inspected the table's intricate wooden patterns for a moment, then surprised Ben with a response. "How?"

"You remember the SAS camp, right?" Oh yes, Alex did. "Not long after you left, it became evident that I was one of the best at the camp in almost every exercise. The sergeant resented that, and I was picked on constantly until some of the higher ups got wind of it and transferred me to MI6, where I'm alienated because of my inexperience and all the secrecy involved.

"During that time, Wolf, Snake, and Eagle were very friendly, but there was some hidden rivalry that distanced us. We're still friends, though- going through h*** together does that to people; I see them from time to time, and because I'm MI6 now some of the tension is gone. You'll probably meet them again at some point, along with Bear: the new member." Alex looked up, his expression unreadable.

"When?"

"I don't know." Ben stopped for a moment, trying to decipher Alex's look. "May I ask you a few questions?" Alex nodded slightly. "Does your shirt have slits or something?"

Alex chuckled softly for a moment. "Yeah- my wardrobe now consists of short- and long-sleeved shirts with slits and several baggy jackets. Pants, too, of course, and socks and the like." Alex looked relieved at the simple question, but he then tensed. "But... um..."

"But what?"

Alex blushed. "I still haven't quite figured out how to take off a shirt with slits."

"Oh." There was another awkward silence. "I'll give you a hand." Alex nodded his thanks. "I've another question. Why did the doctor specifically say to wash your hands carefully."

"About that... to make a long story shorter, the doctors at the veterinarian hospital kept finding new traits- like the purring. It seems that GenoSchool taught me to stick to things, but it's only if I tense my skin in the right way."

"Like a gecko?"

"Yeah, something like that. It's hard to tell." Alex seemed unsettled, so Ben asked another questions.

"Can you fly?"

"No. I don't know how to."

Ben pursed his lips and furrowed his eyebrows, puzzled. "It's not instinctual?" Alex gave a silent negative. "Hm."

Ben studied Alex closely before continuing. "Now, Alex, if my next question makes you uncomfortable at all, just refuse, alright? Do you understand that?" Alex gulped but nodded. "May I touch them?"

Alex blinked a few times, surprised. "You're the first person who's asked."

Ben raised his eyebrows, surprised as well. Half-smiling, he asked, "Well, what did the others do? Just touch?"

"More or less." Alex omitted the fact that Jack had basically knelt down to start worshiping and had never touched his black wings. "I guess it's alright, if you want to."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

Ben stood and crossed the room to stand behind Alex. The slits in the shirt were nicely seamed- at least MI6 could provide clothes. Right then, Alex had his wings pressed flat against his back. The feathers were seamlessly aligned, and Ben couldn't help but wonder if Alex preened his feathers. Carefully, Ben placed a steady hand on one of Alex's wings. The feathers were soft and silky. Alex turned his head to look at the foreign hand.

"You're not afraid of me?"

"Not really."

"You're not throwing me out?"

"No way!"

"You don't think I'm a freak?" It was the quietest of the three.

"Alex, you are not a freak. Even though you have wings, it's only a genetic anomaly." Ben squeezed Alex's wing and shoulder gently, trying to reassure both of them, but Alex stood up and faced him.

Needless to say, Ben was very surprised when Alex wrapped his arms around him in a warm hug.

"Thank you."

-------

It was a warm, comforting embrace, and it lasted a few long minutes. Ben had tried out the doctor's suggestion of rubbing right under Alex's wings, and although Alex didn't purr then, it was clear that he enjoyed the sensation; Alex had leaned his head into Ben's chest and had relaxed his wings to allow Ben to rub circles into his wing-pits. It felt nice to be held close, after all.

Unfortunately, the phone rang and shattered the moment.

Ben ruffled Alex's hair and pulled away to answer it. Alex smiled uncertainly and leaned against the counter, waiting for Ben to finish the call.

"Hello, this is Ben Daniels speaking." The other end of the line talked for a good five or six minutes, with Ben occasionally murmuring affirmatives to demonstrate his attentiveness. "Alright, understood. Daniels out."

Alex gave him a questioning look, and Ben sighed. "That was the bank. No- it's not about a mission," Ben added quickly after seeing Alex's eyes bulge. "Tomorrow, another agent will be moving in across the hall from us. She'll be your doctor, acting as a new neighbor. Also, Ms. Johnson will bring the necessary materials for your homeschooling."

"Homeschooling?"

"Yes. MI6 wants you to get used to your changes before you go back to school." Darn.

"What about my friends? When can I see them?" Alex really meant just Tom, but singular pronouns might arouse questions.

Ben chewed his lip. "I suppose anytime, but you're not supposed to let anyone besides myself, Agent Johnson, and informed people get word of your 'big secret'. If you can't come up with a decent excuse for why you're living with me or why you can't attend school in your healthy state, I don't know if I can let you see them."

"I'm sure I can come up with something."

Ben looked faintly suspicious. "Like?"

Alex hadn't expected Ben to inquire that far. "Like... Jack had to go visit her dad who's suffering from terminal cancer, and my uncle's bank's personnel manager was partially in charge of me when she had to leave. I could say they found another employee to take care of me on an old favor to Ian. And I can say I haven't renewed my passport recently enough to go to America- no, wait. Maybe Jack wouldn't have wanted to uproot me." Alex frowned slightly at the irony of the last statement- that was _exactly_ what she had done.

"Alright, that's believable. But what about the homeschooling?"

Alex paused, reconsidering what he could and couldn't say. "Well, I could say that my sicknesses are being monitored closely, and I'm not supposed to leave the house."

"That's not going to hold water."

"Then why are all my absences attributed to illness?" Alex snapped, thinking of all the false doctor notes he'd turned into the teachers.

"I don't know- I wasn't the one in charge of you," Ben replied calmly. Alex sighed, releasing his pent-up anger.

"Alright, alright." He paused, debating whether or not to tell Ben about Tom's knowledge.

If he did tell Ben, he could see Tom sooner- Tom knew about most of his missions, but he hadn't seen or communicated with him since the end of the school term. He could show Tom as soon as they were in private. But if Ben knew, then he'd have to report it to MI6, and only luck would keep Alex from being blackmailed through Tom. It just wasn't worth it.

"So..." Ben muttered, "I don't have a TV- what do you like to do?"

Alex paused. "Sports, I suppose." He hadn't had much time in the past few years to gather many hobbies; the only ones he really knew of were the extreme sports Ian had taught him about.

"Hm, that's not really something we could do right now- it's rather late." Alex nodded in agreement, but stopped to smother a yawn. It was maybe 8:30 PM.

It seemed to remind Ben of the situation.

"Let's work out the sleeping arrangements. Would you like the bed?"

"I'm sure you want it." It was true; Ben would take the bed over the couch anytime.

"Shall we flip a coin?" Alex agreed it was the fairest way. Ben called tails; it landed on heads.

"Aw, d***," Ben cursed with a good nature. Alex laughed at his expense. "Right, then. You said you needed a hand, correct?" Alex blushed again, but nodded.

"Then let's get to it."

-------

"So, how exactly did the doctors help you?" Alex had pulled out pajamas, and Ben had changed in the bathroom already. Both had brushed their teeth; it was just a matter of changing for Alex.

"Um, they basically helped me pull my wings into my shirt. Then I could pull it off myself."

"Right." Alex sat down on the edge of the bed, and Ben faced his back.

Gently, Ben stretched the shirt over the first joint of his left wing; he then delicately tucked the feathers into the bottom of the slit. The same motions were repeated on the other side.

Without really thinking about it, Alex pulled off his shirt. They were both guys, right? So it was okay.

But it wasn't.

Ben swore violently in near-shock when he laid his eyes on the newest scars that adorned Alex's torso.

-------

AN: Please don't review.


	5. Observations

"S***!" Ben hissed, pulling back from Alex. His eyes were trained on Alex's back but flickered up when Alex turned in mild surprise. "I mean, I knew, but what the h*** happened since I last saw you!"

Alex stared for a moment, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"You've got f****** burn scars! _All over your back_!" True to his word, mutilated flesh adorned Alex's upper back between his wings. Ben couldn't help but notice how seamlessly the wings attached to his charge's shoulders, as if it were perfectly natural.

Flippantly, Alex gave an answer. "A mission- I played with fire, that's all." Still startled, Ben shook his head and contained himself, closing the window completely and motioning for Alex to finish changing while he stepped out of the room.

Once Ben left the room, Alex slipped quickly into his pajamas, poking his wings out through the slits. The infernal feline was thankfully in the bathroom, leaving Alex alone.

Alex sat down in the middle, noticing that the head of the bed was pointed towards the couch. Resting his cheek on his knee while looking over his shoulder, Alex extended his wings.

After a moment's hesitation, he flapped them a bit, even though the feathers at the very end brushed against the walls. The gusts of wind the movement created caused Alex to shiver. With something near fascination, the bird-boy watched his wings bend past 180 degrees on either side- he could touch them in the back and cross them in the front.

The inspection didn't stop there. Alex had been encouraged in the hospital to hide his wings at all times, should a stray owner wander into his room; it had happened several times because the room was near the front. Most of his free time had been spent lying in bed thinking, moving through karate katas with folded wings, or resting under the doctors' watchful eyes. He really hadn't studied his wings in detail- Alex was far from knowing his own back like the back of his hand, per say.

Tracing the three joints, Alex determined that there was a ball-and-hinge joint buried in his own shoulder blades. A long thin bone, not unlike his own upper arm, extended down to the middle of his lower back when the wing was folded, and another joint similar to a human wrist traveled back up his spine to fold neatly against his shoulder. Just like his hand, a small bony structure adorned the very end of the wing, tucking the longest of his feathers back into hiding. A baggy sweatshirt easily hid the tips of those feathers, but otherwise they would reach a little bit lower than Alex's waist.

Speaking of feathers, Alex remembered the long sessions he'd spent with a few different vets. They had preened his feathers for him and taught him how to do it with his fingernails- it would only work on feathers his size. He used a bit of that knowledge while he continued to think. Not only that, to Alex's great relief, the doctors had told him that there were no avian oil glands on him; if there had been, Alex would have had to dip his nails into it to coat his feathers with the waterproofing material when preening. Alex figured he didn't mind a little water.

Recalling a few doctors' comments at the hospital, Alex knew that he was considered severely underweight for a human. Before, he'd weighed around 110 to 120 pounds; now he was about a third of that, ranging from 30 to 40 pounds. A few MRI scans revealed that his bones were built in the same, lightweight honey-comb pattern of a bird's, and his muscle texture resembled a bird's too. His heart had even changed shape, adjusting so that it could more efficiently pump like for flight.. No one had let him try to fly, but he'd sneaked out one night to try flying off the rooftop. It hadn't gone well, but Alex felt that with enough practice he could take flight.

Nature truly was wonderful.

Breaking Alex's concentration, Ben knocked on the door again. "You done?"

"Yeah." Alex's caretaker reentered the room, holding a bundle of sheets, blankets, and pillows. "Where'd you get those?"

"I keep most of my stuff in the kitchen," Ben answered. "You should probably hop into bed- I'll get the lights."

Not long after, the two were asleep in bed.

It would have been peaceful, had they not forgotten about the bathroom door.

-------

Ben didn't know why he woke up- he just did. The glowing alarm clock on nightstand by the bed read 2:08. It was unusual for Ben to wake up like that; normally, Ben would nap during the day and sleep deeply at night.

Perhaps he had a six sense, or maybe he was just that attuned to Alex. Nevertheless, Ben sat up and looked around to room to see if anything was wrong.

Alex's eyes shimmered in the dark like a cat's, right beneath Nix's, tracking Ben's movement in the dark room. The feline had chosen to rest and purr right between Alex's wings, and the poor kid's eyes were positively petrified. "Ben?"

Groggily, Ben rubbed some of the sleepiness out of an eye. "Hm?"

"Could you get Nix off of me?"

Ben sighed and moved to get up. Stopping by the end of the bed where Alex's upper body laid, Ben tried to reassure the boy again. In the dark, he hadn't noticed Alex's sheen of sweat, but he felt it when he touched the side of Alex's face in a comforting gesture.

"Why are you sweaty? Please don't tell me it's Nix." Alex shook his head, his glowing eyes reflecting the movement. "Well?"

"I had a nightmare. When I woke up, Nix was on top, purring." Alex felt a need to justify his wishes to remove the cat. "I think it's just instinctual to fear predators."

Ben was irritated at being woken up so early, and his sleepy mind ignored the nightmare- which agents didn't have one or two at some point? "I've overcome a lot of my instincts," he said harshly before adding more gently, "so can't you try to too?"

"I guess..." Alex said faintly.

Ben couldn't help but notice the uncertainty in his voice. Sighing, Ben moved so that he was directly in front of Alex's head. For the first time, he noticed that Alex's arms were clutching the pillow. Taking a deep breath, Ben reached out and petted his own cat first, drawing out more pronounced purrs. He then slid both his hands under the covers and under Alex's wings- maybe rubbing his sweet spot would help him sleep a little.

"Just relax." It worked well; Alex turned his head to the side and released a bit of the tension in his shoulders. "Nix must have heard you having a nightmare; I'd bet she was trying to comfort you in her own way. You can relax now."

Ben continued massaging, letting Nix's reassuring purrs dominate the small room. He was surprised to hear a second, softer purr for a few moments before it abruptly cut off at the same time Alex fell back asleep- Ben could tell because of the way Alex's wings relaxed on his hands, rather like putty. It was almost cute how quickly Alex fell asleep.

Carefully withdrawing his hands, Ben returned to the couch.

-------

When Alex awoke the next morning, Ben had already started breakfast. Nix was somewhere else, likely in the entrance or kitchen; Alex used the bathroom to freshen up before entering the kitchen in his PJ's.

"Good morning."

"Good morning," Ben replied. "Have some breakfast." He was already sitting down with his own breakfast and milk, but he waited for Alex to grab food before he ate. Ben had apparently showered and dressed before Alex had woken up.

Breakfast was a nicely cooked home meal; there was oatmeal in a pot on the stove, bananas, and scrambled eggs. It was balanced- just the way Alex liked his meals.

"Thanks," said Alex, as he took a plate and bowl from the counter to fill with food. He took a little of each and a glass of milk- after all, he now ate like a bird unless he was very hungry.

Once they were both eating, Ben started to converse. "You had a nightmare last night?"

"Yeah."

"About?"

"Just a mission." Ben nodded. It happened to most of the agents, from what his psychologist told him; the mind does a lot of processing when one sleeps.

"Would you like to talk about it?"s

"No." Alex wasn't much of a morning person, and he didn't like to share his mind anyway.

Ben hummed, trying to think of something. "Remember Agent Johnson? I mentioned her yesterday. She'll be moving in across the hall around noon." The clock above the sink read 8:00. "What would you like to do?"

Alex thought. In all respects, he had no idea what to do with spare time- usually, he had to make up homework or practice something. Now that he was officially homeschooled (and since his school materials would arrive with the new agent), he didn't know what to do.

Ben must have read his mind, for he suggested something. "We could go to the park, if you'd like; I've got a soccer ball."

Alex raised his eyebrows but nodded. "Alright, then go shower. You can use the two towels on the rack; hang them on the door's hooks to dry." Alex blinked, but hastily put his dishes in the sink and went to change. Ben followed him a moment after to help with his wings.

In the shower, Alex discovered his wings held water like a sponge- in the hospital, the doctors had given him sponge baths because all the showers had been designed for smaller animals, like cats, dogs, or even rats. The hot water felt nice until he turned it off; Ben's extra-powerful exhaust fan quickly sucked the water vapor out of the room, giving the water covering Alex the opportunity to evaporate quickly. He shivered.

Although his human and gecko skin were easy to dry off, Alex found that his feathers were stubborn. He had to squeeze them shut to release the water, and then he had to re-dry everything beneath them. Even then, his feathers were still damp, and, because his feathers had a tendency to absorb water, the towel had to be mushed against both sides of his wings to dry them almost completely; even then, the feathers held water better than human hair.

In the end, his five minute shower was shorter than his ten-or-so minute drying time- and his wings were _still _wet. Deciding not to worry about it, he changed into his clothes before meeting Ben in the bedroom.

"What took you so long?" Alex turned sideways and snapped a wing out a bit, effectively spraying Ben with water. "Oh. Maybe we ought to wait a bit before going."

Alex agreed. After a half-hour, Alex's wings were mostly dry, and he slipped into a baggy sweatshirt to hide them.

Ben, who was holding the soccer ball, opened the door. "To the park then."

Alex smiled and strode out the door.

-------

AN: _Fluffy Intermission_ reference!

Please don't review.


	6. Introductions

The black-and-white ball soared right by Ben's head into the makeshift tree-goal- _again_. Alex was even more agile now that he'd transformed a bit, and it was difficult to keep up. If Ben didn't know Alex was superhuman, he might have been awe-struck by the sheer speed with which Alex moved.

Thankfully, there were very few passing people to stare. Most were on their way to work or in a hurry; Alex and Ben had walked to Regent's Park and arrived around 10:00, but it was a weekday. There was no danger of any schoolboys of Alex's age turning up.

Ben ran to retrieve the ball, and rolled it to the agreed start point. Alex backed up ten feet, waiting for Ben to start. They were both a bit sweaty now, but it was fun.

Ben lashed out suddenly, knocking the ball into the air in the direction of Alex. Alex didn't miss a beat; he jumped into the air and used a flashy high kick to possess the ball, throwing it to the side. He then darted over to it for a clear shot at the goal. Ben moved to guard, but wasn't fast enough- _again_. The bird-boy scored for at least the hundredth time.

"Good grief, Alex. How are you so fast?" Said boy grinned cheekily at him. Ben rolled his eyes. "Still, though- how on earth?"

Alex's grin faltered for a moment, debating. "I just am, I guess. It's natural, right?"

"For birds. Still, though- you're mostly human."

Alex sighed; the trusting side of him had won the internal debate to reveal information. "Crouch." Ben blinked, but complied quickly. Hesitantly, Alex put his hands on Ben's shoulders and hopped onto his back.

"Oh gods, you don't weigh _anything_!" Ben stood easily, holding Alex's legs so that Alex was piggy-back riding. Alex didn't respond- he just wrapped his arms around Ben's neck instead. "No wonder you're so fast."

Without warning, Ben walked over to the nearly forgotten soccer ball and kicked it up. He caught in one hand, needing only one for Alex.

"What're you doing, Ben?" came a slightly high-pitched voice beside his ear.

"I'm going to fatten you up to level the playing field."

"Hey!" Alex cried indignantly when Ben restarted walking without putting him down. Ben laughed, but continued. "Put me down!"

"No."

"Put me down _now_!"

"No way. Not until we get there." Alex capitulated- he didn't have much say in whether Ben would put him down.

Ben carried them into some of London's downtown shops.

-------

Ben didn't stop walking until they reached a particular store several blocks away. The shop sign read _Marine Ices_.

"What is it?" asked Alex.

"We're here." Ben lowered Alex to the sidewalk, and Alex looked around a bit. It was a quaint intersection, simple yet pretty. A _Salvation Army_ building stood beside _Marine Ices_.

"What would you like? Personally, I think the vanilla and chocolate ice cream is better than most places'. Or would you like me to surprise you?" Startled, Alex didn't reply. "Alright, then. I'll pick." Ben turned to the clerk. "Hello."

"Good day, sir. What would you like?"

"One scoop of vanilla ice cream and one of pistachio ice cream, each in cones, please." The clerk nodded and went to make the treats.

"_Ice cream_?" asked Alex, incredulous. "At this hour? It's nearly lunchtime!" He paused, and Ben waited to see if he'd say anything else.

Alex did. "Is the pistachio for you?"

Ben laughed at Alex's turn-around. "No, the vanilla's for me." Alex blushed, refusing to say more.

The clerk returned and handed them their flavors. The price displayed on the cash register, and Ben handed over four pounds, submitting the change as a tip.

Alex was eying the green ice cream with something near suspicion. Ben hid a smile. "We'd better eat these on the way back- Ms. Johnson is arriving in about a half an hour, and it'll take us maybe twenty minutes to walk back." Without shifting his eyes from the mysterious pistachio ice cream, Alex nodded and followed Ben.

"You should eat that before it melts, Alex."

-------

It was almost noon when Ben and Alex returned.

They stepped into the entry way, removing their jackets and shoes. Alex stretched his wings, not noticing Ben's admiration.

"That feels better," Alex proclaimed. "How much longer do we have?"

"There's maybe 3 minutes until Agent Johnson gets here. You'll have to keep your wings hidden when we meet her in the hallway- it would arouse suspicion if the security cameras saw you like this." Alex remembered something important.

"Who am I acting as?"

"You're Alex Daniels, my recently adopted son." Alex smirked at that. "Sorry for not telling you earlier, but it's not that important. Once we provide reason for her to come in, we can drop the act altogether."

"Oh. Okay." Alex had more questions. "Will we help her with furniture?"

"Of course- we're her neighbors. But for the most part, the room is already furnished.

"Speaking of furniture, I'll be getting a second bed in a few days. It's a slender twin bed, so we'll be rearranging furniture too."

"How will we arrange it?"

Ben led him into the bedroom. "The couch will move to the corner in between the doors, and the large bed will go next to the window. The slender one should fit here." He pointed to the corner opposite the bathroom door and window.

"Is the smaller one for me?"

"Yes- I hope you don't mind. I had to get something that would fit."

Alex nodded thoughtfully. "It's fine." He paused. "What will Ms. Johnson be doing?"

Ben didn't have time to answer, for the doorbell rang just then.

-------

"Hi, I'm Ms. Johnson. I just moved in next door, and I thought I ought to get to know my neighbors a bit."

Ben and Alex smiled politely. "But of course, Ms. Johnson. Would you like to come in for a minute? This is my son, Alex."

"I'm quite the special boy."

Ms. Johnson looked at him curiously, as if she hadn't expected him to speak. But the moment passed quickly, and, in no time at all, she was conversing with Ben, who led her inside.

Once they were inside (and the door was shut), the act was dropped completely. Ms. Johnson's attitude did a quick 180 from polite to professional, if a bit rude.

"Alright- where can I examine it?"

Ben didn't understand. "What?"

"Alex- where can I examine it?" Ben was at a loss for words, but he gestured vaguely towards the bedroom. They moved into that room.

Alex had sealed himself off, realizing Ms. Johnson was one of the people who didn't think of him as human anymore.

"Alright, Alex," she said in a sickeningly sweet voice- one you might use while addressing a cat or dog. "Strip; and lie face down on the bed."

Alex blinked. The new agent hadn't moved from the room, leaving him with no privacy. "I'm sorry?" Ms. Johnson started repeating herself, but Ben interrupted the doctor.

"Just a minute, Alex. I'd like to speak with Ms. Johnson for a moment." He led her into the kitchen, leaving Alex alone in the bedroom.

-------

The moment the door was closed, Ben wheeled around, furious. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

"I was going to examine bird-boy, but you've stopped me." She seemed irritated and impatient.

Ben's eyelid twitched. "You will _not_ treat him like an animal."

"He is one."

"You are too."

For a few minutes, neither spoke, choosing to glare at each other. The invisible connection of a battle between their eyes was broken when Alex stepped into the room.

"Um, Ms. Johnson?" Her beady black eyes caught Alex's, and for the first time he examined her. Narrow eyes indicated an Asian ethnicity, and her raven-black hair was cut short in a practically way; her casual attire consisted of slacks and a graphic T-shirt. She was clearly not among the stereotype Asian women, for her mildly disgusted and snobby look forced onlookers to withdraw such notions.

"What's it want?" Unsurprisingly, this question was directed at Ben.

"I, uh..." Alex trailed off, hoping for help from Ben. His glance reminded Ben of an important fact, but he chose to ignore it. Alex was a human- he could speak for himself!

It did seem Alex was in need of a little prompting, though. "Go on."

"I have some difficulty taking my shirt off."

The sour Asian rolled her eyes with a huffy sigh. "I should have guessed. I'll help it strip, if you'll prepare some tea for us, Mr. Daniels?" Her 'us' was tacitly excluding Alex.

"No, I'm afraid now isn't suitable. Why should he remove all his clothes, anyway?"

"It's just easier to say that than go into detail."

"Wait- what do you want to examine?" Alex asked. Without turning her head, Ms. Johnson sent a dirty look his way.

"Bird-boy's wings are in need of examination."

"What makes you qualified? Why did they pick _you_?" Ben challenged, his voice somewhat low.

She didn't answer for a moment. "Those are MI6's reasons: not for you to know."

Ben's eye twitched, trying to restrain his anger. "You _will_ treat him as a human."

"And how do you propose I do that?"

"For one, don't ask him to strip if he doesn't need to! You can look at his joints by moving his shirt; he can remain completely decent." hissed Ben. Calming himself, he turned to Alex. "Why don't you wait in the bedroom?" It wasn't a question, but Alex nodded and left.

"Why'd you do that?" Ms. Johnson inquired.

"I'm not letting you near him unless you're going to at least try to be polite. It's not fair- you can't just treat him like that!"

Ms. Johnson reconsidered. "Yes, I suppose you're right. He _is_ coherent." Her look changed from anger or disgust to a mostly blank page. "I can see why you're insisting on special treatment- you have known him from before this operation, correct?" No answer was needed.

Something in her eyes died- if there had been a spark of sympathy, it was surely extinguished now. "I've worked with similar cases, Mr. Daniels, so I can assure you this will be a mistake."

Without waiting for an answer, she reentered the bedroom. Although she never explicitly agreed to human treatment, Ben had taken her last sentence to imply her capitulation.

"Alex?"

"Yes?" The mildly apprehensive boy was sitting on the side of Ben's bed, facing them.

"We should start over. My name is Susan. What's yours?"

Alex didn't answer- he was trapped in the recesses of his memories.

-------

AN: Thanks for reading!

Please do not review.


	7. Limits

"Alex?" No response to Agent Johnson.

"Hey, Alex?" No response to Agent Daniels.

At first glance, Alex was perfectly relaxed. On second thoughts, one might think he was controlling his muscles carefully in the midst of a brilliant actor's trance. But should one study him closely, they would find that he was frightened, motionless in fear. His eyes bore holes into Ms. Johnson's.

Ms. Johnson turned to Ben. "Look, there's no point. Even if I_ am _civil, he doesn't respond at all to it." Ben frowned- what was wrong with Alex?

"Alex, seriously! Snap out of it!" Ben snapped his fingers in Alex's face to reiterate his point, and Alex flinched visibly.

"What?" he asked in a higher-than-normal tone.

Ms. Johnson snorted at Ben's attempts to make Alex act human. "I told you it'd be a mistake. He's only partially coherent." Ben couldn't answer.

But Alex could- and he had a question. "Wh-what did you say I could call you?"

"Susan."

"Sus-_anne_?"

"_Su_-san. Don't tell me your ears are decoration." Alex visibly relaxed.

Ben noticed. "Why? Is there something wrong with the name 'Susan'?"

"Not really."

Ms. Johnson looked down on both of them. "Well, it's a perfectly fine name." Haughtily, she faced Alex. "Well, then, I suppose I'd better get on with _your_ examination," stressing the 'your' simply to annoy Ben. "Lie down on the bed. And take off the jacket." Alex had donned a jacket for the hallway's security cameras, and he took it off now and laid on the table.

"Oh." Ms. Johnson didn't seem remotely apologetic. "I'm sorry; I thought that Alex's wings wouldn't be sticking out through his shirt."

Without pausing, she began her simple examination by poking and prodding the wings; spreading the delicate, soft feathers; extending the joints; and feeling the surrounding flesh all over. Ben watched carefully, wondering what she was feeling for, and where her expertise came from. Alex had buried his face in the pillow, occasionally twitching if Ms. Johnson touched a sensitive spot.

After maybe ten minutes, Ms. Johnson proclaimed she was done.

"That's it?" Ben asked incredulously. "Why the h*** did you ask him to strip?"

The doctor looked at him, long and hard. "I'm afraid that is none of your concern."

"_What_?"

"I shan't tell you."

"I'm going to file a complaint against you," Ben threatened.

"Go right ahead- they need my expertise for Alex, so don't expect any changes." They stood-off, daring the other to say something.

Alex quietly snapped the tension, having sat up and spoken as he donned his shirt. "Can you at least tell me why you said I had to undress completely?"

Ms. Johnson was mildly surprised. "I would prefer not to tell you, but I suppose I could tell you alone. Rest assured that I am no pedophile, though."

"Oh? And _how_ will I know that if you won't tell me?" Ben scoffed.

"Hey- you said to treat him like a human. Part of that is patient confidentiality." Ms. Johnson smirked.

"I want to know," Alex said quietly. Ben deliberated for a moment, trying to think of ways out of this new development, but soon saw it was hopeless; he left for the kitchen.

Ms. Johnson's demeanor changed once Ben left the room from unfriendly and rude to something more professional. "Are you absolutely certain that you want to know, Alex? Ignorance is bliss."

The winged child nodded solemnly.

Ms. Johnson sighed, running a hand through her black locks. "When a genetic hybrid is made, the new DNA is known to degrade, even producing deadly toxins in some cases." She paused, looking at Alex, deciding on whether she should continue.

He understood, and nodded. "Go on."

"Sorry- I've never actually had to tell a hybrid about this part of their lives." She smirked, eyes elsewhere, but she quickly returned to the present. "In fact, the DNA is rather like radioactive material- it has a fairly accurate degradation rate, not unlike a half-life for some elements." Alex knew where this was going, but chose to listen anyway.

"For most of their experiments, the GenoSchool would calculate the time of death, sometimes to the exact minute, but usually to the day with larger organisms. It's fairly common for that date to be tattooed somewhere inconspicuously. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to hurt your handler- he seems to like you a lot. I was going to look for it, just to satisfy my own curiosity." She paused, seeming to realize this topic was rather morbid. "Ah- but don't worry! Most mutants live at least a year." Now Alex knew why she thought caring about him was a mistake, though she never said it.

It took a few minutes for that to sink in.

Alex swallowed, uncertain of how to receive the news. "Should I tell Ben?" The man might see his mistake in caring for Alex and withdraw all his affections for the boy.

"He told me to treat you like a human- you're the patient, it's up to your discretion." Her tone of voice stated she didn't care, but her eyes clearly warned against telling him.

"Are you going to examine me for the date?"

"Not unless I get your consent, now that you're considered _human_."

"How did you learn so much about hybrids?"

"Can't tell you, sorry."

It reminded Alex of the many classified things he knew of.

"What do you know about me?"

Ms. Johnson paused, thinking. "I know that your DNA has been altered at the GenoSchool over the course of the summer, and I'm aware of the modifications that you've discovered: wings, gecko skin, and purring. I've been told you're an MI6 operative, but that questioning is off-limits: like asking about your scars."

"What exactly is your role? In my life, I mean."

"Officially, I'm just a neighbor. Technically, I'm your doctor. The details are classified."

Alex was very confused. Ms. Johnson seemed intent on treating him like an animal just a few minutes ago, and now she was at least being professional with him. "Why are you treating me so differently than before?"

Ms. Johnson frowned, surprised. "I... I guess you're just human-like. You're a lot more coherent than the others I've worked with." She also blushed slightly and glanced to the kitchen door for a mere half-second, but Alex caught the move.

"You like him; you're protecting him with silence while following his request."

Ms. Johnson gave Alex a look that one might have if they saw a severely rotten piece of unidentifiable food: utter revulsion. If Ms. Johnson had been polite or even kind, it was gone now. Alex was reminded of how pigeons scatter when a person disturbs their space.

She snorted, disdainfully eying him. "Aren't you rude." With those as her parting words, she stood and went into the kitchen, making Ben startle. Nix jumped off his lap.

"I've finished for the moment. You can ask him what you want. I'll see you soon."

With that, Ms. Johnson waltzed out of the apartment and into her own.

-------

Ben had waited patiently in the kitchen, and he discovered Phoenix was hiding by the cupboards, unnoticeable at a first glance; both were a light-brown color. As he sat, trying desperately to resist the urge to eavesdrop on the doctor and her patient. Phoenix helped him out; she hopped onto his lap, purring softly.

A few minutes later, Ms. Johnson walked by and left, leaving Alex in the kitchen with Ben. She said, "I've finished. You can ask him what you want. I'll see you soon." Nix hopped to the floor.

Poor Alex.

"Alex?" The wanted boy looked nervously into Ben's eyes, wary of what he might say. "Would you, ah..." Ben couldn't ask things right off the bat- Alex might be disinclined to answer should Ben begin by interrogating him. "Would you like some lunch?"

"Sure."

"How's a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup sound? I'm afraid that the soup is canned, though."

"It's fine. Thanks." They were tiptoeing around the elephant in the room.

Alex watched in silence as his grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup were cooked, and Ben also chose not to speak. It seemed to be a common course of action for both of them.

When the food was served, Ben asked harder questions. "Alex, why did Susan ask you to strip?"

"She..." Alex tried to think of a good excuse- he didn't want Ben to worry. "She wanted to know if I had feathers elsewhere on my body. I told her I hadn't seen any."

"Wouldn't your file have told her that?"

"Apparently not."

"Why didn't she ask?"

"Ms. Johnson probably thought it would be difficult for me to answer. Look, I don't know," Alex said, effectively ending the conversation.

Perhaps it was the slowed, defeated way Alex bit into his sandwich or the idle way he stirred his soup. It could have been his downcast eyes or his faintly creased brow. Most likely, it was how Alex barely startled when Phoenix hopped onto his lap to start purring comfortingly. Then again, he might be getting used to the feline; but probably not. Nevertheless, Ben realized something was off about Alex's demeanor.

"What's wrong?"

The idly spinning spoon stopped moving, and its absent faint clinking punctuated the near-silence (for Nix was still purring). "I'm fine."

"Your actions speak otherwise, Alex."

"Really?"

"You look sad or defeated. And you don't seem to mind Nix- that's unusual."

"I..." Would Ben reject him? How would Ben receive news of his death date? He might even ask for reassignment; how would his new guardian act? What if-

"Alex?"

Might as well get it over with. At the very least, Ben might prepare himself for Alex's death and suffer less. He didn't deserve the pain that Alex would cause him. "Ms. Johnson told me that an 'operation' like the one I had significantly shortens my lifespan."

"Oh." The grave news darkened the atmosphere. "How much?"

"I've probably got a few years to live, if less."

Ben swallowed, unsure of how to receive this information. "Then we're going to make it the best few years of your life, right?" An uncertain smile displayed itself.

Alex didn't return it. "We?"

"Yes- together. I'm not going to abandon you."

"You'll regret this."

"Not in the present. I'll grieve this decision in hindsight, if at all."

Alex found the words very reassuring.

-------

AN: You've got an end in sight. How's that make _you_ feel? I feel better because I know what I'm doing- and now you know that I won't abandon this fic.

**Please review this chapter with a "_yes_" or "_no_"**: did you notice that the word count increases by _exactly_ 2,000 every chapter?

Thanks for your consideration and for reading!


	8. Safety

Alex and Ben had gone over to Ms. Johnson's house after their lively discussion about death to help her move in, but she told them to "bugger off and do some work". Ms. Johnson then whipped out several schoolbooks and shoved them into Ben's arms before shoving him out the door. Alex followed quickly.

Ben used a powerful laptop produced from his cupboard to let Alex research some of his topics. (Smithers was a fabulous friend.) Studying took up most of Alex's afternoon, and Ben had helped him when necessary.

Alex learned trigonometry, advanced physics, and conceptual history in Ben's kitchen.

Ben learned Alex was a near-genius- his reading was incredibly fast, and he understood almost everything on the first try.

Then why were his grades so terrible?

"I'm never at school; it's hard to pass the class when you don't have a foundation in the subject, and I rarely have time to turn in work for grading."

MI6?

"Yeah."

Enough said.

Alex opened his biology textbook, Ben reading over his shoulder.

_Chapter 9: Life's Instructions  
_

_Section 9.1: Introduction  
_

_Deoxyribonucleic acid, commonly known as DNA, is present in all life forms. It is the instructions that each cell follows so that the organism can function. In this chapter, we will study the structures, applications, technology, and diseases associated with DNA. _

The introduction droned on.

Ben looked at Alex, but the boy was engrossed in the textbook. He was flipping to one of the subsections of the chapter.

_Section 9.6: Bioengineering_

_In the past decade, a new form of DNA instructions was man-made: recombinant DNA. It is formed by genetic engineering; in many cases, an enzyme is first used to cut two or more organisms' DNA. Through the use of different enzymes, these DNA strands are recombined, forming a new set of instructions. Practical uses include genetically modified food, insulin-producing bacteria, polio vaccines, and so much more. _

Ben was still reading when Alex flipped to a different page. He wondered what Alex thought of this section.

_Section 9.9: Diseases_

_The two most prevalent diseases that affect DNA are cancer and viruses. Cancer may be caused by radiation or...  
_

Ben glanced down to the sub-heading of "Viruses".

_Viruses are not organisms; they are proteins that are wrapped around a special form of RNA that injects into the cell. The cells reproduce the virus when the ribosomes mistake the RNA for the cell's own tRNA. As we learned in Chapter 5, the body's mechanisms can clear out infected cells by-_

The book slammed shut.

"I'm going to bed." Alex walked into the bedroom and remembered the sleeping arrangements. "You can have the bed; I'll sleep on the couch."

Ben glanced at the clock; it read 7:32.

"You sure? It's pretty early." Visible through the doorway, Alex shrugged and went into the bathroom.

-------

Lying on the couch in the dark, Alex listened to the soft rustling of Ben readying himself for bed. He had fallen asleep for a while, and the clock on the nightstand read 9:43 now.

Nix had woken him up, again.

But this time was different. Alex had been lying his side, facing the couch. Nix had hopped up and over him to sit on top of the couch cushions, her tail hanging and brushing Alex's temple as she purred. It wasn't as scary as before- she had seemed like a predator, but now it was just a friendly gesture.

The rustling stopped and changed to a shifting noise that was heading for Alex. Mildly surprised, Alex closed his eyes.

Ben looked at the 'sleeping' boy for a long moment. "Oh, Alex," he murmured.

The boy nearly let on that he was awake when a gentle hand stroked his hair. His caretaker was _petting_ him, yet the non-human couldn't bring himself to mind.

"I'm going to regret this," Ben whispered, unintentionally disheartening Alex, "aren't I, Nix?" The cat didn't respond, choosing to purr quietly.

Needless to say, Alex was very surprised to feel soft lips against his cheek.

"Good night."

Alex's keen hearing picked up the sound of Ben climbing into bed. Somehow, Alex knew that Ben had fallen asleep after a while.

Nix's tail brushed against the couch-ridden child, reminding him that someone cared as darkness swamped his mind.

-------

It was only after both of them had slept that Ben remembered Alex hadn't had dinner yet. To make up for it, he decided on a huge breakfast.

"Pancakes?" a bleary-eyed Alex asked upon entering the kitchen.

"And omelets and mango slices!" Ben announced proudly. "I forgot to make dinner last night."

"Thanks?" Alex replied uncertainly. He wasn't very hungry for some reason, but he felt up to eating.

"You're welcome. Grab a plate, and let's dig in." Ben demonstrated, going to a particular cupboard and seizing a plate. Alex followed, dishing out his own food.

They were halfway through their silent meal when the doorbell chimed.

"Got it," Alex said. He donned a sweatshirt before answering and finding Ms. Johnson outside.

"Good morning, Ms. Johnson."

"Hello, Alex. I need to speak with you both." She seemed too tired to uphold her nasty persona, instead weary and resigned. Surprised, Alex led her into the kitchen.

Ben looked up as they answered, but didn't say anything. Ms. Johnson quickly eyed what they were eating and seemed to ignore it. After a half-second, she looked back, shocked.

"You're feeding him _eggs_?" she exclaimed.

"Yes. Why?" Ben replied, not realizing her rather obvious reason. Alex had blinked, then looked down in deep thought.

"He's a _bird_, and you're feeding him _eggs_!"

"He's not a bird- he's a..." Ben looked for the right word. "He's a human with a few genetic differences." Alex smirked, thinking it was an understatement.

Ms. Johnson smiled exasperatedly. "Don't you see what I mean? That's _cannibalism_!"

"Owls are cannibalistic birds," Ben pointed out. "And he's not really a bird, you know. He's human."

Alex really appreciated Ben's standing up for him, but he had his own two cents to put in. "I knew, but they reminded me of someone I like a lot. Eggs were her specialty." Jack made eggs all the time- sausages or bacon took much too long for her. It was a pleasant memory of her; delicious eggs made him think happily of her. "I don't mind."

The female huffed, seeing her side of the battle was losing. "Fine, fine! You can stick to your morally questionable ethics."

Alex looked up and grinned awkwardly. "Thanks."

Taking a deep breath, Ms. Johnson focused herself. "Alright, forget it." She paused, collecting her thoughts. "MI6 contacted me this morning."

"What'd they say?" Ben inquired.

"There's three things. First, I've been ordered to treat Alex more humanely."

Ben grinned while Susan glowered. "So filing a complaint _does_ have effects." The woman ignored the comment and continued.

"Next on the list is the lab results. Alex, do you remember having your blood drawn?"

"Yeah, a few times."

"Good. Well, they were analyzing it for a while, and they've found a few things." Taking a deep breath, the reporting agent went on.

"Of the lab tests, there were few definitive results. They've managed to identify the segments of DNA that create your wings, bird-like body weight and structure, and gecko-like skin, but they've yet to find your purring mechanisms." Pausing helped the information sink in. "Your DNA for the bird-like parts comes from the _Trochilidae _family or hummingbirds, and your gecko-skin comes from the subfamily _Gekkoninae_- one of the more common gecko subfamilies." She stopped.

Alex frowned, disconcerted. Although she was using fancy scientific terms, the information was intuitive. "That's it?"

"No. Upon further inspection, it was found that your DNA deviates from normal human DNA in at least 5 other places, and they've been coding your DNA to find matches among other species. It's a little hard to tell exactly what each section will do, but they found a pigmentation gene change on your feathers. It seems the DNA comes from the _Lepus americanus_."

"What's that?" Ben asked.

"The snowshoe hare, commonly known for its fur's seasonal color-changes."

"So..." Alex tried to piece together some semblance of the puzzle. "My feathers are going to turn white soon?"

"That's what the lab scientists predict."

Ben seemed skeptical. "Who are these lab scientists? Do you know them?"

Ms. Johnson frowned minutely. "I don't know them, but there's only a few of them. MI6 can't exactly ask everyone to help research this- it's highly classified. What I know is that they're trying their hardest to find out what's going on with your DNA."

Alex and Ben exchanged a look, then urged her on.

"The other part of the lab results is that you didn't have one virus injected into your bloodstream- it seems there's one for every new mutation. The blood work determined you've got over 7 different unidentified viruses- three of which contain DNA for geckos, hummingbirds, and bats. Your cells seem to make the viruses, but that's part of viruses' natural reproduction methods."

_So that's what all those injections were _really _for_, Alex thought.

Ben was perplexed. "Bats?"

"Yes, bats." Ben frowned. "We don't know what the gene is for yet."

"What do all these viruses mean for me?"

Ms. Johnson measured Alex up before answering. "If your secret ever gets out, anyone who extracts your blood plasma can essentially get your mutations."

Ben gulped. "Like, if Alex gets caught by criminals and his blood were drawn, we could have flying terrorists to combat?"

"Yes, and any other genes Alex has."

Well, shoot.

"What's MI6 doing about it?" Ben asked.

"That the third thing. There's good news and bad news. The good news is that they're doing their very best to keep the whole situation under wraps. In the meantime, the bad news is that they'd like Alex to go a secure facility."

"Would I be coming as well?"

"Of course- you're his handler. Although I'm his doctor, women aren't allowed where you'll be going to."

Alex was curious. "To where?"

Ms. Johnson smirked. "You'll be learning to fly while you're there. The only available secure enough area is an SAS training camp."

Ben frowned. "As in Wales's?"

"No- part of the SAS training facilities are located on the British Isles, south of India.

"We will be leaving this afternoon, and we need to be at our 'bank' at 4:30."

-------

AN: A great big "THANK YOU!" to all of you who responded to my question! Also, the other reviews were much appreciated. Your reviews show me that you care, so thank you all!

Review if you want to, but please don't feel obligated. (I won't reply.)


	9. Takeoff

Alex looked around the Royal and General Bank's lobby, wondering when the wonderful reunion would be taking place. For him, it was very stressful, but Ben seemed to find it funny.

"Come on, Alex, relax! Even though they haven't been told you're here, I'm sure they'll all be accommodating." Alex wasn't so certain.

Ms. Johnson didn't make him feel any better; earlier, she had said that the SAS soldiers weren't supposed to ever learn about Alex's DNA. In other words, they were entirely in the dark about why they had to provide lodgings.

After she had said that, they'd had separated to prepare. Alex didn't have much in the way of things to put away, but Ben had to set a few things before his departure; they weren't supposed to bring anything with them. Ms. Johnson bid them farewell when they emerged, and Nix was staying with her for the time being.

Ben had driven the two of them to MI6's secret headquarters. Parking in the 'special' garage nearby ensured his car's safekeeping, and they walked about a block before reaching the bank. Alex tried not to think about the open rooftops, and, if the other agent noticed, he didn't comment.

"It's 4:57," Alex proclaimed irritably from where he sat on the lobby's bench next to Ben. "Who's taking us there? And how?"

Ben shushed him quietly. "Alex, we'll find out soon enough. Susan said to wait here."

Alex rolled his eyes and eyed the other agents in the room. They really looked like regular customers- women, men, the elderly, youths all showed, alternating with the tellers and leaving as they pleased. Alex wondered if there were a code, and then he wondered what would happen if an agent forgot the code.

"You know, some of those customers are real, Alex. I'd suggest that you stop looking so suspicious of them," Ben whispered. Alex blinked and looked directly at Ben, clearly surprised. "I'm not kidding."

A woman who looked as if she could be related to both of them stepped away from a teller and headed over to them.

"Hi, boys. Sorry for the wait- the line's a killer! Shall we get some ice cream?" she asked.

"Of course, mom," Alex said sweetly.

If her smile were a bit strained, no one noticed. "Then let's hop to it."

She reached toward Alex, offering her hand. Alex took it and stood, vaguely wondering if his real mother would have acted like this. As he sort-of followed the stranger to the door, dragged by her firm grip, he found himself secretly studying her movements- the swish of her clothes, the gentle bounce of her fair hair. For all purposes, she could have been Alex's mother; perhaps she really had kids. The woman looked over her shoulder, studying him for a moment. A warm, parental smile blossomed on her seemingly related, thin lips. Alex smiled back, a bit uncertain.

A touch to his free hand ended his musings. Ben squeezed his hand gently, pulling him to reality again. Whether he realized Alex's silent thoughts or not, Alex found himself grateful for the kind hold. At the very least, Alex had a sort of father- even if he were MI6's lackey, he had the sincerity of a close friend or a family member.

Outside, a small car awaited them. The woman took the driver's seat, leaving Ben in the passenger's seat and Alex in the back. Once the doors were closed, the woman changed her tone of voice to something slightly more professional and less motherly, though her outward countenance remained the same (for people could see into the car).

"I'll be taking the two of you to the airport. I was told to tell you, I quote, 'to not cry wolf'. When you 'find the lion in the sheep's clothes', 'await your destiny'." Alex smirked.

The underlying message was clear; still, someone had a sense of humor.

-------

Now Alex sat in the airplane's lobby beside the flight gate. The woman had left them under the guise of a family relative instead of a mother. She had given both of them tickets to a flight to the British Isles; the plane would hold about 25 or 30 people total.

Alex looked at the clock on the wall. There were no other people besides Ben at Alex at the gate, and there was only a half hour until the plane left. Ben was napping beside him.

Alex pondered his soon-to-be home. It would be tropical, but swamped with military types. Ms. Johnson said that the SAS trained there. Wolf would definitely be there- that was clear from the cryptic message. But Alex and Ben were in civilian clothing and posing as father and son. Even if the SAS weren't supposed to know about his wings, how would a child's presence be explained?

Without warning, a posse of about 20 soldiers filed around the corner (at ease, as they were chatting amiably) and took the seats around Alex and Ben. Ben didn't stir.

Scanning the crowd, Alex quickly determined that the highest ranking man- possibly a sergeant- was near the entrance. A pilot was sitting next to him, quiet and thoughtful. Wolf was sitting beside him, and he hadn't noticed the 'civilians', for he was reading a rather thick binder.

Looking further, Alex noticed that Eagle and Snake were among the rest of the more common soldier-like crowd. They too had yet to notice Alex and Ben, as they were engrossed in conversation with a third man.

Curious, Alex craned his neck, but a tap to his shoulder stopped him.

A serious-looking but somewhat friendly soldier was looking at him concernedly. Apparently the SAS were kinder off-duty. "Boy, I think you and your father might have the wrong flight."

Alex smiled politely, realizing this was one of the men he'd be staying with for the next few weeks or however long they were there. "Thanks, but he's not my father, and we do have the correct flight." Ms. Johnson said to use their codenames. "I'm Cub, and he's Fox. How should I address you?"

The soldier narrowed his eyes. "Don't play games with me, boy. Could I have a look at your tickets? Maybe I could help you out."

"Sure." Alex slipped his hand into Ben's pocket and retrieved the slips of paper. He handed them to the soldier, whose eyebrows raised in surprise. He turned to the soldier next to him and showed him the slips.

"Um, yeah. I guess you do have the right flight." The concerned soldier looked at the two, and seemed shocked as he recalled something. "Oh god..." He swallowed. Alex's smile grew uncertain, and he discretely nudged Ben.

The MI6 agent stirred. "Hm?" he hummed, looking at Alex before looking past him and fully waking at the sight of a soldier.

"Fox," Alex introduced, "this is one my new acquaintances." The man quickly apologized for disturbing the two and dived into a furious whispering with his neighbor.

"Uh, hi." Ben directed his next words at Alex, lowering his voice to achieve a more private conversation. "Did Wolf see us?"

"Not yet."

"Did the sergeant come over?"

"No." Ben nodded thoughtfully. "But I saw Snake and Eagle chatting with someone over there."

Ben flicked his vision in that direction and quickly confirmed Alex's assumption. "They're talking with Bear- I guess they're trying again."

"What?"

Ben turned Alex's head so that he could whisper in his ear. "Most people don't make it into the SAS, Cub, and even fewer make it into MI6 through the SAS selection process. Usually about one hundred people try each year- I'd say about half these men will become real SAS members. Bear didn't get in either- he was my replacement when MI6 pulled me in the middle of the selection. I think the others thought I was thrown off the course, but they were still my friends. I actually saw Snake the other day, and he wasn't tense at all with me. He thought I quit or something, and he doesn't know I moved to MI6."

Ben paused, uncertain. "When I said I see them from time to time, I meant that I had to do some follow-up investigation on Snake, Eagle, and Bear after they were turned away. I did work with Wolf for a bit, though- I saw him during an operation, but he didn't see me."

Alex frowned, whispering into Ben's ear before letting the elder of the two continue the private conversation. "But you said I'd see them again."

"They're really good, Alex- they'll probably make it in this time. Wolf's already in. Because the SAS do a few jobs for MI6, I thought you'd see them again." Alex accepted his explanation.

The loudspeaker disrupted the entire group's small talk. "Flight 574 is boarding. Please proceed to the plane." The 'civilians' waited for the soldiers to line up, and they quietly joined the end of the line. No real civilians seemed to care, but they got a few looks.

-------

The military members had already boarded the plane, and with the exception of the earlier man, none had spoken to Ben or Alex.

The secretary took their tickets and returned the stubs. Taking a deep breath, Alex led the way. It was time to face his 'old friends'.

No flight attendant greeted the pair when they stepped into the plane's entrance. Alex looked into the cockpit to see that the pilot from before was sitting beside Wolf, and they were preparing to take off.

Ben followed Alex down the central aisle, nodding to the sergeant in the front as they passed. The man nodded back and let them continue to the very back, where their tickets directed them.

Needless to say, the pair halted conversations and attracted stares as they passed between all the soldiers. Snake, Eagle, and Bear sat in the middle of the plane, and they collectively blanched at the sight of their old unit mates- or mate, in Bear's case. Apparently they were all under orders not to disturb their two guests, for no one spoke to them.

Alex took the window seat in the very back of the plane. There were no people in the seats across from them.

Ben took in Alex's unnaturally stiff posture and blank expression. "Cub?"

Alex blinked, then answered without meeting his gaze. "What?"

"It's going to be a long flight- 10 or more hours. I'd like you to take these for me," Ben suggested as he pulled out a small plastic baggy with a pair of pills from his pocket. "I've got more for the return flight."

"They are?"

"Sleeping pills: I heard that you're claustrophobic."

Alex stared at Ben for a long moment before silently accepting the pills and dry-swallowing them. "Thanks."

Ben was right- it would be a very, very long flight.

-------

AN: I decided to post this early because I wrote it and realized that pretty much nothing happened. I read another story- _Letters to Fanfiction_ by _Talionyzero_- and wanted to fit those details into my story (it fits with Ben's words in 'Chapter 4: Settle').

Review if you like, but don't feel obligated; I don't want my readers to feel like they must work.


	10. Flight

Snake thought back to the moment when they had been sitting _undisturbed_ on the plane.

Everyone had boarded. Bear was across the aisle from him, and Eagle was looking out the window but simultaneously asking when they were going to take off. It was odd- everyone had clearly boarded. Their passes had been accepted as a group, and Snake knew everyone was seated.

Everyone but his 'friend', that is.

Before the SAS embarked, the sergeant at the head had told them that there would be a few guests. More importantly, that no contact was to be made with these fellows unless they directly spoke to you.

And thus, Snake, Eagle, and Bear were very shocked to see Fox. They had all assumed that either (1) Fox had been binned without their knowledge or (2) Fox had requested to leave the selection.

Oh yes, they were very surprised.

Snake and Bear were in aisle seats, so their gazes followed the back of the apparently Special Operations operative to the back, where he followed a child. Eagle had caught a glimpse, and, once they were out of view, he snapped back to sitting straight in his seat. The sergeant stood up in place of the steward and said that they knew the safety procedures, and, if they didn't, they might as well leave now. The plane proceeded to the runway, and the threesome proceeded in silence.

Snake overcame his shock first, but the plane was taking off. As they were beside the wings, it was difficult to hear each other. Once they were cruising upwards, he addressed his teammates.

"My gods, were they who I thought they were?"

Eagle stared at the seat in front of him. Snake looked to Bear, who replied, "I guess Fox went MI6- you guys were wrong." Bear had met him in passing as Fox had been clearing out; now Bear paused, recalling what he'd seen. "What the f*** is a kid doing here!" he hissed.

Now focused a bit more (that is, more of the initial disbelief had worn off), Bear replayed Snake's question. "Wait, you know the kid too?"

"Yeah," a new voice proclaimed, "that's Cub." Eagle, a bit pale, had joined the conversation.

"Cub?" The applicant beside Bear found their knowledge worth listening to. "The kid?"

Snake nodded. Camaraderie was encouraged in the SAS- just not on a personal level, should anyone be captured. "Last year, he came for a wee bit less than a fortnight."

"No way!"

Eagle nodded. "The copilot was also with us and the kid. I wonder if he knew." Wolf didn't, but Eagle, Bear, and Snake hadn't had a chance to talk with him.

Snake barely noticed as the seat belt light flickered off. "Yeah, and the kid wasn't half bad. A might small, but he kept up. And he's clever too!"

"How do you know that?" inquired Bear.

Eagle looked out the window for a moment before replying. "He magically made some matches appear during a survival course."

"That's cheating, you know."

"Yeah- but hey, we weren't about to complain. Warm survival rations taste better than cold ones."

"True enough." The foursome chuckled a bit before retreating to their own thoughts for a while.

"Still," Eagle said, "I can't help but wonder why they're here."

"That's for Cub and me to know- not you three," a Liverpudlian voice said from a bit behind their row.

"Fox!" Snake exclaimed, twisting around in his seat.

"Jesus, man! You scared me!" Bear noted.

Eagle just grinned at the man. "Good to see you."

"Hey," the man in front of Bear said. "As wonderful as I'm sure this reunion is, some of us are trying to sleep, you know. Do you mind?"

"Uh, no," Fox answered before leaning close to Snake's ear. "Who's that?"

"Hawk- a nice guy at heart, but outwards? A bit of a b******."

Fox acknowledged the opinion with a nod before speaking to his ex-teammates. "Would you like to sit in the back with me, then?"

"Sure," Bear answered softly so as to avoid disturbing other soldiers. "We don't have assigned seating."

Bear stood first, followed by Snake and Eagle. It surprised all three of them how quickly Ben strode to the back of the plane. The reason became apparent when they arrived; as there were only four seats to a row, Alex would have to sit elsewhere. Fox had placed the fast-asleep child on his lap, and was just settling in as the other members of the previous year's K-Unit joined him. Snake took the seat beside Ben. Again, Eagle took the other window seat, leaving Bear beside the aisle.

"So," Snake began, eying the somewhat unusual positioning of the man and child beside him, "I take it you two have gotten to know each other?"

Ben smiled, making sure all the people in the row could see. "I can't confirm that, but I daresay you've probably guessed that by now."

Eagle leaned forward. "Why're you two back with us? I mean, didn't you ask to leave?"

"Again, I can't answer." Unlike before, Ben gave no hints despite wishing he could tell them. He didn't want to keep secrets from his friends.

"Sorry, but I don't know much about this 'Cub'," said Bear. "Are you father and son?" Eagle and Snake snorted in unison, almost missing Ben's facial expression.

Said man winked as he answered. "I can't tell you that." Eyebrows shot up on the Scottish fellow, but he didn't comment. "Are you done interrogating me?"

"Not yet, but..." Bear trailed off. "Erm, how did Cub fall asleep so fast? I thought that teens stayed up later."

"Sleeping pills. He accepted them." It was the closest thing to a reason Ben could give them.

"Oh."

"Well," the man next to the father-son pair said, noticing his friend's vague discomfort, "we'd best follow Cub's example. It'd do no good if we were exhausted on our first day there, hm?"

The men across the aisle nodded their agreement before all of them tried to nod off.

-------

The plane left around 6:00, so it would arrive at a night hour in Britain. Thus, it might be around 8:00 AM in the British Island's time when they arrived: however each soldier chose to adjust would be left up to himself.

After their short reunion, all the people in the back row had drifted off to sleep. That way, they might squeeze in 5 or 6 hours of rest before they landed and had to remain awake for the rest of the day. Alex didn't get much of a choice, but at least he'd eaten dinner with Ben at the airport, like the other soldiers had.

Nevertheless, none of the soldiers could claim to feel sufficiently rested by the time they landed. Alex hadn't even stirred.

As the plane taxied to a more suitable drop-off location, Ben awoke. He nudged Snake, who in turn woke up the men across the aisle to alert them of their arrival.

When the plane stopped, all chatter ceased when the sergeant stood up. "Alright, ladies! First rows first, you know the drill. Line up outside." The first row departed.

Ben tried to wake Alex, but all attempts were to no avail. With a quick touch, though, Ben determined that Alex's pulse was normal.

Snake looked on with concern. "How many pills did you give him?"

"Two- an adult's dose."

"How much does he weigh?"

Ben opened his mouth, about to reply "less than forty pounds", but that would be highly suspicious. Now that Snake mentioned it, he probably ought to have given the underweight teenager the kid's dose. Instead of a proper reply, all that came out was an "Uh..."

Snake sighed, then said, "Here, let me hold him for a sec. I'm not bad at determining weights."

"No! No, that's not necessary." Bear cocked an eyebrow.

"Fine, fine. Suit yourself."

There were maybe two more rows before the last one; Ben tried once more to wake up Alex. It still had no effect.

Eagle commented, amused at Ben's predicament. "You'll just have to carry him." In a few seconds, Snake, Eagle, and Bear were all standing, ready to leave. Ben swallowed.

"Need a hand?" offered Snake.

"No." If Snake were to hold any of Alex's limbs, he'd most certainly know something was wrong. "No, thank you."

Ben waited for the other soldiers to file away before easily hefting Alex into the other seat. After a bit of quick maneuvering, Alex was safely piggy-back riding. Ben rushed to meet up with the last of the soldiers.

Eagle glanced over his shoulder with a peculiar expression on his face, but he turned to face front as they stepped onto the stairs that would take them to the ground. Freeing up one arm, Ben gripped the handrail on the rickety staircase as he descended- he only needed one for Alex anyway.

Wolf, who was standing next to the sergeant, was facing the recruits and hadn't seen them yet, but he turned when he noticed the several surprised looks in their direction. The sergeant had already seen them, as had the recruits, but none expected the child to oversleep. They all stared unabashedly as the last of the men moved to stand at the back. Ben stood at the very back.

Unsurprisingly, Wolf looked positively shocked.

The sergeant took over once the mini-army was lined up. "Listen up! Welcome to the British Indian Ocean Territories. In other words, you're now in the middle of nowhere. If training's too hard, that's too bad. You're stuck here.

"Tomorrow morning, you'll be shipped out in groups to the other islands around here. You get an emergency radio for _emergencies_; you know how to survive, so don't radio in to say you give up."

Wolf tapped the sergeant on the soldier and whispered something in his ear. The recipient of the message nodded.

"Follow the pilot to your facilites- they'll house you for the day while you adjust to the time zone. Fox, stay behind with Cub." The pilot walked off, leading the men and leaving Ben with the sergeant and Wolf.

They didn't look happy.

-------

AN: Oops. I reread the first part of the _Stormbreaker_ book. Alex attended the _training_ of SAS soldiers- not the _selection_. (もう...) Since I already switched to selection, I'm just going to stick to it. (I did find it a bit weird that MI6 would let Alex train with non-military personnel... but hey, we all make mistakes. Right? Forgive me!)

**Please do not feel obligated to review, but I do have a question that pertains to the storyline. **

I know earlier that I said I would kill Alex to end the story, but then I read about this very, _very_ cool jellyfish- http:// www. telegraph. co. uk/ earth/ wildlife/ 4357829/ Immortal-jellyfish-swarming-across-the-world. html.

So, the question: do you want to me kill Alex or 'revive' him? (Obviously, he'd be a new person after reverting, and that would end the story anyway because it's not Alex Rider anymore.)


	11. Grounded

AN: I-was-going-to-release-this-on-April-Fool's-Day-and-title-the-chapter "Author's Note". Then-I-stayed-up-past-midnight-and-missed-my-chance. If-you-didn't-know, adding-dashes-makes-the-word-count-of-all-the-connected-words-equal-one-by-the-FF-word-counter, so-I'm-doing-this-to-make-it-so-you-get-more-words-in-the-story-itself. I'm-too-lazy-to-do-that-for-the-AN-at-the-bottom-though, and-it-contains-stuff-you-should-actually-read; I-know-this-grammatical-nightmare-must-be-bothering-you.

I'm-sorry-for-being-late. I-know-it-says-that-the-story-updates-weekly-in-the-summary... but-this-lengthy-chapter-will-hopefully-gain-me-the-forgiveness-of-my-readers, even-though-it's-been-10ish-days.

Enjoy!

-------

Quick-summary-of-what's-happened: Alex-has-wings; Ben-is-his-guardian. They-headed-off-to-a-remote-island-with-the-SAS-for-protection/training. Ben-accidentally-overdosed-Alex-with-sleeping-pills.

-------

Someone had tied lead to all of Alex's limbs, and that someone had decided that Alex needed a headache, Alex surmised.

He was slowly waking up. 'Groggy' barely started to describe how he felt. Plus, he had no idea where he was. At the hospital? No, wait- Ben had adopted him. Then he should be in Ben's apartment.

With a quiet groan, Alex separated his eyelids slightly to be blinded- and thus add to the pounding sensation on his brain- by the overhead lights. Now he remembered- he'd been on the plane, taken Ben's sleeping pills, and passed out beside said man.

A harsh, insistent, male voice was murmuring irritably in the background: "Cub? Cub? Are you awake? Cub!" and so forth.

Alex let out a heavy breath. Whoever had put him here obviously had forgotten about his wings- they were numb, the circulation constricted by Alex's minimal body weight. Alex wanted to flex them, but that would mean shifting his weight; letting sleeping wings lie was easier, Alex figured.

"Cub?" Oh yeah- Alex hadn't acknowledged the other person in the room. Whoever he was, it was very annoying.

Maybe that someone would shut up if Alex did acknowledge him.

"What?" Alex snapped quietly, his voice crisp and clear.

"Cub, it's Wolf." Alex opened his eyes all the way to search for the old acquaintance. He was sitting on a folding chair, a little to the right of the foot of Alex's infirmary bed. Hunched over, the SAS soldier looked tired and irritated, like Alex. Alex tried to sit up, only to find that his body wasn't cooperating entirely. He slumped back to rest on his elbows instead of sitting up.

Wolf smirked at the disheveled boy's tousled hair and frown. "Fox overdosed the sleeping pills you took. You'll be fine, but the medic said you'd probably feel a bit out-of-sorts after being in an induced unconsciousness for so long- it probably feels like someone's taken a sledgehammer to your skull."

"Mm-hm."

"Right now, it's about 8:00 here, or roughly 12:00 in Britain."

Alex quickly did the math, thinking back to Ben's description of the time zones. It'd be midnight when they arrived, and they left around six in the evening, British time. That meant Alex had slept for six hours. "8:00? Then we just got here."

"8:00 PM." Make that eighteen hours of sleeping.

Alex felt like his mind was fogged over, but he managed to extract an important thought. "Where's Ben?"

"Ben?"

"Yeah."

"Who's Ben?"

Apparently, Alex still wasn't thinking entirely clearly. "Sorry- where's Fox?"

Wolf cocked an eyebrow. "We've removed you temporarily from his care."

"Why?"

"Essentially, he drugged you. If he'd been any further off the right dosage, you could have had serious health repercussions."

Alex tried to blink away his muggy state of mind before giving up and settling for a disbelieving stare. "You're kidding. Let me see him."

"That's not how this base works, Cub. We're not used to dealing with children, but the sergeant agreed with me that Fox was irresponsible. You're in my care now, not his."

"Then..." Alex thought. Somehow, he had to know if Wolf knew about his wings. At the same time, if Wolf didn't know, Alex didn't want to alert him to his secret.

"Then what?" Wolf wasn't very patient.

"Then did Fox tell you anything?"

"He's contacting London at the moment. The radios were down for a bit, so it's taking him a while. He mentioned something about clearance, though."

Alex nodded and leaned back against the single stiff pillow, wishing he could move his wings. Obviously, Fox was asking if Alex's temporary caretakers could know about the wings. He sighed.

While Alex's slowly churning mental gears had been generating cryptic questions, Wolf's were trying to understand the underlying meaning. Something was clearly up between the two- Fox had insisted on carrying Cub all the way to the infirmary, which couldn't have been a small feat. Furthermore, Fox had been specific in his last instructions about Cub-care: do not touch him under any circumstances.

After Fox had dropped the boy off and gone to the radio station, Wolf had asked the other three in the back row about the incident, and they'd responded that Fox had had Cub on his lap. The apparently MI6 agent was difficult to understand- perhaps he was trying to show he cared genuinely for the boy by carrying him? Or was there something else- something that no one could know? That would explain the clearance-question. Wolf also noted that the teenager's voice seemed to have gotten higher since the last time he'd seen him, contrary to the normal growth of human males.

Engrossed in his thoughts, he didn't even realize Alex was analyzing him. Alex had determined mostly nothing- just that Wolf didn't want to hurt him. Where their relationship lay, he didn't know.

"Wolf?" The requested person looked up. "If it's 8:00 PM where we are, then doesn't that mean we'll be going back to sleep in a few hours or less?"

Smart kid, Wolf noted. "I will be- you should try to sleep. Tomorrow at 0600 hours we'll be heading off to our respective islands for training or selection, depending on who you are. I'll wake you at 0530."

"Okay." Alex didn't have much say in the matter. "You should go rest."

"Are you alright here if I leave?"

Alex' nodded politely.

-------

Ben was really, _really _ticked off. Not at anyone in particular- he was just mad.

After the rest of the group left, Wolf asked why Cub was still sleeping. Bound by honor, Fox explained quickly, saying that Alex didn't like airplanes. He'd given it a bit of thought; Alex had been fine in his car- it was just the plane, he figured. If Ben were part-bird, he wouldn't like flying in a metaphoric metal cage either.

Wolf had listened critically, as had the sergeant. They seemed to be under the impression that Fox was too irresponsible to care for Alex. As it had been explained to them by Special Operations that Alex was there for 'special treatment', the sergeant specifically said that Alex would be put into Wolf's care in lieu of Fox's and get Special Operations' instructions later. Wolf had objected at first, but Ben's pleading look dissuaded further argument. Wolf trusted Ben, at least to some extent after being in a unit with him. Ben figured Alex had to get into trustworthy hands if Ben couldn't take care of him.

Now Ben was trying to contact MI6's headquarters to ascertain clearance for those now involved with Alex's well-being. Unfortunately, the lines were very busy, and the radio had been down earlier. Ben had had to wait until 7:40 PM in the islands' time to call London. Even after a half-hour, he'd had no luck, and now the radio operator was eying him suspiciously, as if debating whether to kick him out or not.

It was too frustrating. He dialed his next-door neighbor's number. Someone picked up.

"Susan?"

"Ben? What's up?"

"I need to get clearance for a few people, but the lines are busy at the Royal and General. I have to tell them about Alex, so I'll need to get a few copies of the appropriate paperwork."

"Why do you need to tell anyone?" After all, the speaking woman had told Ben not to tell anyone.

"Alex has been removed from my care. The sergeant should know, as should his new caretaker. I'd also like to ask about another man who's studied birds- he might be able to help out." Ben was referring to Snake. Said man had told Ben that he'd studied ornithology, the study of birds, in college before entering the military. It was quite the story to hear- it had been difficult to get into the army's specialized forces before they realized his affinity for learning about mammalian body parts. Then they let him in as a medic.

"What! Why does he have a new caretaker? I thought you were giving him special training."

"The sleeping pill dosage was double the right amount for his body weight, so he was overdosed. The sergeant thought it was irresponsible, and thus that I was endangering his health."

There was silence on the Londoner's end. She had told Ben to give Alex that amount. Ben was ticked off in general- that was clear. His invisible accusation made Ms. Johnson guilty, and he knew it.

After a minute, he took pity on the distraught woman. "How's Nix?"

"Your cat's fine. Keeps meowing, though. I stuck her back in your apartment."

"Thanks for caring for her. Nix meows when she feels neglected- usually when I come back after a trip." Ben could sense Ms. Johnson's escalating guilt over the phone. He didn't like her very much. It felt good to make her feel bad. He was only able to relish the feeling for a moment longer, though.

"Sir?" the radio operator said. "I need you off the lines, now."

Ben nodded once. "Susan? Got to go. Bye." The phone clicked as it reunited with its resting place. Ben customarily saluted the radio operator before leaving the room.

It was only as he started down the hall that he realized he'd never gotten clearance for the sergeant, Wolf, or Snake.

He swore.

-------

Alex stared at the wall, wondering what time it was. Wolf left hours ago, and Alex's grogginess was entirely gone. Everyone on the compound was probably asleep now- it was probably around one in the morning. But no, Alex was jet-lagged.

Jet-lagged like he'd come from the other side of the world instead of Britain.

Admittedly, it'd taken Alex a while to realize that whoever had given him the incorrect amount of sleeping pills was now hindering his ability to adapt to this time zone. He couldn't deny that he was a bit angry at Ben.

After Wolf had left, Alex had shed the sweater he'd still been wearing in favor of freeing his cramped wings. In the small infirmary room, he'd only been able to extend his right wing from a sitting position. His left pressed against the wall. He'd then laid down on his side, hoping to switch time zones. It wasn't long before he had ironically taken several breaks from resting, doing things like looking out the window (he was on the second floor!), aerobics, or karate katas.

For some reason, Alex felt a sudden urge to go outside. It could have been the small space or the sterile atmosphere, but he felt like he _needed _to leave. Plus, he preferred the outdoors, even before he'd changed into a mutant.

Quietly, Alex slipped out of the room, leaving his socks and shoes but bringing his sweater. Somehow, he was able to move in almost total silence as practically sprinted down the hall to the stairs. Alex didn't know why, but he went up to the top instead of down.

The roof was a wide open space, and the warm, misty air smelled of the ocean. Alex looked out over the vast blue water, feeling small. There weren't many people out and about; Alex wouldn't be noticed, anyway.

Running to one edge, Alex tied his sweatshirt around his waist. He turned around, preparing to snap his wings out- just to try flying. He'd attempted flight once before, but he'd jumped off the side of a two-story building to find himself bruised on the ground below. He'd learned his lesson- Alex was going to run.

Alex sprinted into the wind. When he reached his maximum running speed- which was inhumanly fast- he spread his wings. A huge gust of wind smashed into the feathers- Alex could feel it, strong and powerful, and knew instantly that he'd failed.

The wind blew him over.

Frustrated, Alex spent a good deal of time trying to take off, only to find himself grounded. After perhaps the sixth or seventh try, he realized that suddenly snapping his wings out wouldn't do anything besides force him backwards, so he decided to try starting with them spread.

Alex ran into the wind, fighting for balance when the breeze threatened to knock him over. As he gained speed, he leaned further and further forward until he was at a 45 degree angle with the ground.

The feeling was exhilarating. The wind was lifting him! It was swirling around his wings and through his hair, ruffling and tickling all at once. Before, his feet were supporting his weight; now they were skimming the ground, leaving ghosts of footprints. In his blissful moment that felt almost natural, Alex closed his eyes to concentrate on his body's positioning and movement- legs running, wings stiff, arms near his sides. Perhaps he could-

SLAM!

Alex's head started throbbing in time with his quickened heartbeat, and he bounced off the roof's wall to land on his back with his wings still spread.

"Ow," the injured would-be flier moaned. Said person decided to call it a night, the run having tired him out.

Alex donned his sweatshirt and sneaked back to his room. He managed to fall asleep for about four hours before 0530 came along.

-------

Wolf was not in a happy mood. He just was not one of those morning people.

The sun was rising, and Wolf was exhausted. After he'd finished with Alex, Wolf had gone straight to the regular barracks. He was familiar with most of the men and hoped that Snake, Bear, and Eagle would join him this year in the SAS forces. It seemed like Fox had gone off to MI6 instead of quitting, and that made him feel a little betrayed.

Even so, Fox was very good at what he did. But that didn't make Wolf any happier. He understood all the secrecy and such, but they could have said that Fox was leaving the SAS for another military organization! At least, they'd let him say farewell to Cub.

Oh well.

Wolf headed over to the infirmary to grab Cub while the rest of the military camp went for food or showers. As he entered the room, the bruise on Alex's forehead seemed to suddenly cry out, "Look at me!"

"Cub? How'd you get that?" Wolf eyed the bruise. He was supposed to look after the kid until he got instructions about Cub's 'special treatment'.

"Got up to look for the bathroom and had a door smashed in my face." There, succinct and simple. It was bound to work.

"The bruise is too dark for that." Wolf wasn't buying it. Alex shrugged. "Well, I'm here to take you to breakfast. You can grab a shower at the barracks, if you'd like."

Shower? Alex wanted to, but he had to make sure it was alright. "Will there be others there?"

"Of course." Some men ate then showered; others showered then ate.

"Are there stalls?"

"No- privacy is a privilege, not a right." Wolf was quoting some military maxim.

"I can't," Alex declared. "I'll shower at some other time."

Can't? Wolf wondered about that, but didn't question it. "Right, then. Breakfast. Fox told me to give you these clothes." He held them out. Alex took them and waited for Wolf to leave.

He didn't.

"Are you going now?"

"There's no reason to." Alex sighed, looking down. Wolf would be right, if Alex weren't a bird-boy or if Wolf had clearance.

"Please?" Wolf rolled his eyes and left, muttering something about teenagers as he shut the door.

Now to change.

Alex switched every garment except his shirt. He still wasn't sure how to take it off on his own. It was time he learned.

He'd slipped off every part of the shirt except the back-most part, where his wings went through. If it had been his arms, Alex could have simply grabbed the end of the shirt and pulled it off, but his wings' ends consisted only of really long feathers. Alex simply had no leverage to remove the garment.

Thinking quickly, Alex looked for something to help him and found it in the bedpost. Sliding down with his back pressed against the pole hooked the shirt on it; a bit of crafty wing-maneuvers combined with walking away from the post pulled the shirt off. Alex bit back a hiss as the shirt rubbed some of his feathers the wrong way and even pulled several out. It hurt.

Pausing, Alex preened his feathers for a moment, trying to rid himself of the stinging that the shirt had induced- it reminded him of times when his hair had been pulled; there had been an annoying and somewhat painful throb leftover, only this was worse. His fingers ran through his feathers in an attempt to soothe, and it worked after a long minute.

"What's taking you so long?" Wolf's impatient voice called from the other side of the door.

"Nothing!"

Hurriedly, Alex dressed in the clean outfit; Ben had cut slits for him in the shirt. He then slipped on the jacket and met Wolf in the hallway.

Wolf led Alex to a different building for breakfast.

As they walked through the open area between the barracks, Alex enjoyed the sun. It felt nice on his dark uniform- so warm and comforting. It was one of the few ubiquitous things Alex could count on. He trailed behind Wolf by a few paces.

They were approaching a different building. Unlike the infirmary, the mess hall looked like it had only one story. Inside, there was a short hallway before the more open indoor area meant for eating. On one wall, an opening filled with people served food. After the soldiers ahead of them got their food, they proceeded into the cafeteria. The room was a low-ceiling structure with many long, rectangular tables not unlike the ones commonly found in high schools.

Alex stepped behind Wolf into the breakfast line, a bit concerned about how he'd be received when he went into the cafeteria. Who knew how SAS soldiers would react to a kid?

The kitchen-duty person barely glanced at him as he dumped a glob of grey slop onto his tray, then did a double take. A kid!

"You're... h-he's a _child_!" Alex glanced briefly in Wolf's direction to see if he would help. Wolf was concentrating on holding his tray out for the next person in line, who was dishing out canned vegetables. The veggie-server almost finished with Wolf's tray, but stopped at his coworker's exclamation. They were the only two at the window.

"By gosh, he _is_!" Alex met Wolf's eye and silently asked for directions. Wolf understood and rolled his eyes.

"Get over it. And give me my breakfast," the soldier quipped. The two gossips shut up very quickly at the steely tone in Wolf's voice, and gave both Wolf and Alex their breakfasts respectively and respectfully.

Alex decided that the kitchen personnels' reaction foreshadowed another from the soldiers. They had acknowledged his presence among themselves, not so much with him.

He was right.

As he entered, no one really noticed besides a select few- namely, those who were watching for friends. Snake, Eagle, Bear, and Fox were sitting across the room, though. That meant Alex would have to walk down the aisle that the tables formed to reach the place where he was to sit. At least, where he thought he should sit.

Wolf didn't even look back as he steam-rolled his way through the bustling morning crowd to the far table like usual. Alex wasn't so fortunate. He garnered more and more looks, causing people to halt in his way.

Resolutely, Alex ignored their stares and tried to follow Wolf's wake in order to reach the right place to eat. Wolf raced ahead, though, leaving Alex on his own. Eventually, Alex ended up walking on the other side of the table where it was slightly less congested for some reason.

The soldiers didn't want to talk to him. That was apparent- they stared and whispered among themselves, but they didn't say a word to Alex. Alex was off-limits to them- their job was to do, not ask. So, although Alex got a lot of stopped people in his path, he made not one acquaintance because not one soldier would approach him. It was eerie.

By the time he got to K-Unit's section of the table, most everyone in the cafeteria was aware of his presence if not openly staring. Alex couldn't help but feel nervous. He was twitching. The stares were unnerving him- he was used to being in the background.

When Snake, who was next to Ben, let him slide in between them so that he didn't have to sit next to someone he didn't know, Alex was eternally grateful. Wolf sat opposite, and on either side of him sat Eagle and Bear. Once seated, he realized he had to sit up perfectly straight- should Snake feel his wings, it would be problematic.

Ben noticed his unusual posture and bruise but didn't comment, giving a look that clearly said he was going to ask later. He shifted a bit into the soldier next to him to give Alex a bit more wiggle room in silence, much to Alex's relief.

Snake, who was slightly hunched over like everyone else, cocked an eyebrow at Double-O-Nothing before eating what the cafeteria called oatmeal. Although the rest of the cafeteria's hungry soldiers were resuming their regular conversations, it seemed that the 6-person group wasn't ready to do so.

Alex felt guilty. He knew that the others were probably used to conversing among each other, and that his presence- possibly along with Ben's- was inhibiting a normal atmosphere.

"So..." Alex tried to think of something to say that would not incite reciprocating questions about himself. "When do we start training?"

Wolf answered, "In three minutes." In other words, at 0600.

Ben commented, "You two were a bit late," as a sort of explanation. Alex nodded before he and Wolf wolfed down their food. Alex was surprised to find himself famished and even a little hungry after eating. Maybe his extreme run last night and the lack of food for nearly 26 hours were getting to him; he supposed no one had considered his eating schedule. The rest of the camp had eaten dinner yesterday evening while he was asleep.

Again, Alex was gossiped about but not directly approached by anyone as he went to dump his tray alongside the others. He did notice that Wolf was asked about Ben and him.

An unfamiliar face questioned, "Who are they?"

"Yeah- why are they here?" asked another.

Wolf looked at them for a moment, then shrugged and ignored the rest. Alex also observed Snake, Bear, and Eagle having similar questions thrown at them.

"Why isn't anyone approaching us?" Alex whispered into Ben's ear, standing on tip-toe. The man was in front of him, along with Wolf; Snake, Eagle, and Bear were behind him.

Ben whispered back, "They've got orders to not contact us in any way unless we engage them directly- i.e., if we call them by codename or ask for their names."

"Oh."

"If you want Snake, Bear, or Eagle to talk to you, you'll have to address them individually." Maybe that was why no one was talking much during the meal. Out of courtesy, Snake, Bear, and Eagle had probably chosen not to say anything; it would be awkward if Alex were conversing with Wolf and Ben while the others couldn't participate with him directly.

It occurred to Alex that breakfast conversation probably would have been strained, even if the other three were allowed to speak with him. He didn't really want to talk with them, but he knew Ben would want to speak with them. It would probably be best to engage them as soon as possible.

Alex stopped walking momentarily to address the three, even though it wasn't very timely. Snake bumped into him. Alex cursed silently in his head.

The reptilian-named man felt an unusual lump as Alex turned, having hit the the side of Alex's back. Whatever the lump was, it was made nearly invisible by his jacket and possibly the shirt underneath. Snake looked down at the boy's back, noticing for the first time a very slight bulge on each side of his back; one had to look for it to see. Alex turned all the way around for a moment, obscuring Snake's view.

What was it? Snake wondered. He'd noticed earlier that Alex's voice had gotten higher, unlike normal boys. He'd seemed more reserved, and somehow he'd gotten a massive bruise on his forehead. His eyes were different, too- they were somehow darker, but not color-wise. It bothered Snake- surely he wasn't an active agent? It made the soldier sincerely wish he could talk to the boy himself, but his orders forbade it. He was startled out of his thoughts as his dilemma was solved.

"Snake, Eagle, Bear," Alex said just loud enough for the right people to hear. He quickly turned around and emptied his tray before following Fox.

Snake was surprised by the verbal contact, but followed the three in front of him out the door. Eagle and Bear exchanged looks before continuing as well.

Wolf stopped and turned around. "As of now, I'm here for training. To be more specific, I was sent here to assist in training you." It was informal, but Wolf was introducing himself to Eagle, Bear, and Snake in a new way. It was clear because he'd waved Ben and Alex on, though they heard most of it anyway.

"I was supposed to tell you at breakfast, but I didn't have a chance." Eagle smirked. Wolf had been eating faster than he could chew. "You've been selected to join the SAS. Congrats." Wolf paused, allowing the news to sink in. Apparently, the plane ride had only the selected people. "There's just one thing left: the final test. It's to determine if you've really got the guts to stick with us.

"In this test, I'm going to be living on one of the islands around here near you. There will be limited contact between us. You can request to leave at any time, but then you'll be ineligible to join the SAS ranks. You may choose to join the SAS after surviving on the island for..." Alex walked out of earshot with Ben.

His inquiring glance prompted Ben's answer. "Basically, the conditions here aren't ideal for survival- there aren't many resources besides the ones you bring. It's a h*** of a lot worse than any survival course you get during selection. Once the newly accepted soldiers go through the test... well, a good number of them tend to ask for a transfer. Since these guys are the best of the best, this is only to weed out the second-best of the best.

"I bet Wolf was selected to train these guys because the SAS really does want them now, even if they join only because they like the people involved.

"It's a confidential test. I don't know much about it or why it's a secret. I only know about it because MI6 told me about the lifestyle here."

If Alex hadn't regretted coming before, he was now.

-------

AN: I've read a other fics like _Faint Hearted_ by _Scorpia710_, _Life's a Beach_ by _Monster Mads_, _Ask No Questions_ by _Lil Lupin_, _Hiking Vacation_ by _Sakiku_, _There and Back Again_ by _Talionyzero_, and _Hell is Other People_ by _amitai_, and I decided my favorite thing about all of their wonderful stories was that they wrote in-depth descriptions about how each of the characters felt. Thus, I've attempted to add those details to enhance this story.

Go read their stories.

**Do not review.** I feel bad for releasing this late.

Thanks for reading!


	12. Transfered

AN: Here it is: hot-off-the-press and likely riddled with mistakes.

Enjoy!

-------

Alex looked at Ben for a moment, then glanced at Wolf to see if he'd finished. He had, and now Wolf had three grinning fellows in tow. At least someone was happy about being here.

Ben grinned at them as the came over. "Congratulations. I hope you stay."

Snake grinned. "Of course!"

"Sure," Bear grunted, despite the cheery smile.

Eagle's expressive face morphed from a beaming epitome of happiness to one of vague confusion or worry. "Why would I ever want to leave?"

Alex shrugged. "Congrats." The others looked at him, rather surprised at his simple statement. They weren't comfortable with him yet.

"Thanks," Snake answered. Speaking with Cub had reminded him of the unusual object under his jacket; what were those bumps? After a moment of thought, he devised a plan to uncover more detail.

"Sorry to interrupt your welcome party, but we've got to head to the docks," Wolf interjected.

"Right, sorry. Let's go," Ben agreed. They headed for the docks.

Alex knew something was up with Snake. He'd bumped into him at breakfast, and now Alex was receiving covert inspections. Snake's scrutiny was barely noticeable, but Alex could sense his eyes' gaze without looking. Maybe it was instinct.

It was probably instinct that alerted him to the presence of the man who was occupying his thoughts.

It was _definitely _instinct that made him sprint toward the now-visible docks.

In a casual manner, Snake placed his arm around Alex's shoulders, as if they were close friends. He started to say something, but Alex had spooked already; the boy was racing down the walkway. If Snake weren't suspicious already, the sheer speed would have made him think. It certainly raised a few eyebrows on the rest of the group. Fox just swallowed and grimaced. It looked like Alex could be a sprinter.

Oddly enough, Alex barely detected an increase in his pulse when he stopped at the end of the dock, having regained control over his body. He wasn't even breathing hard. Running was incredibly easy for him; then again, he had an avian heart. A bird's heart has to be efficient- especially a hummingbird's. Otherwise, the bird might faint in air, and that would be terrible.

Wolf snorted when Alex took off. "Better keep your hands to yourself, Snake."

"Hm." The Scottish man was contemplating several things. First, why Alex's voice was higher. Second, what was up with his back. Third, how Alex could run so fast. And fourth, the reason for Alex's return.

He found no answers.

As Snake, Eagle, Fox, Wolf, and Bear reached the dock, Alex bowed his head and lined up with the rest of the soldiers in front of the sergeant. They didn't get a chance to speak.

"Good morning, SAS soldiers," said a sergeant with a clearly foreign accent. He was rolling his r's, even. "Today vou are going to island, and vou will be staying there for 3 day. Enough said, board following boats." The man then listed a bunch of pairings- groups of 4 soldiers with some boat.

The Eagle-Snake-Bear-Wolf group was called last, and lined up with a particularly small boat. It was like a speedboat. Then the sergeant added one last thing: "Vould last group stay behind for further instruction."

The sergeant that had flown to the island with them seemed to appear out of no where. "Snake, Wolf, Fox, Cub- we need a minute before you leave. In private." He led them to one of the compounds and into an office.

Once Snake shut the door, the man briefed them. "Special Operations contacted this base this morning. They agreed that Cub should have a different caretaker." Fox swallowed, wondering what the reason was. Surely Ms. Johnson had contacted them and added that she had been the one who gave the overdose?

"Cub will be staying with the incoming group- that means with Eagle, Snake, and Bear. Fox and Wolf will be staying together on the other side of your island. During this time, Special Operations ordered that Snake care for the child."

Snake kept his face stoic, though inside he was silently pondering this selection. He got a bit more of an explanation. "Wolf, you will be teaching Fox more survival skills that he has yet to learn. Snake will be giving Cub 'special treatment'- Special Operations' words, not mine."

The sergeant studied Alex thoroughly before continuing. "Special Operations also gave orders for Fox to communicate with Snake about Cub, whatever that means. They said it was to be done in secret. You have 5 minutes to 'communicate'." He stressed the word 'communicate' sarcastically.

Wolf took the hint, leading the way out. The sergeant followed, leaving Snake, Fox, and Alex alone. Alex shifted uncomfortably.

"Well," Snake opened, "what do you need to tell me?"

"You're caring for Alex, also known as Cub." Ben swallowed. "He's been through a lot, and his latest mission left him in need of 'special treatment'. MI6 probably looked at your background and determined you were the best person to help Alex. Anything you hear here is strictly classified."

"The point being?" Fox looked to Alex for an answer.

Alex cut straight to it, albeit in a quiet and unsure voice. "I've got wings."

"Sorry?" Snake couldn't believe it- sure, he'd seen the evidence, but he'd never piece together like that. It was impossible.

Alex dry-swallowed and repeated himself, a bit louder. It was difficult to tell if Snake had thought he'd misunderstood or if Snake simply hadn't heard. "I've got wings."

Snake almost said, "Very funny," but something in Alex's voice told him not to. Alex seemed uncertain and more shy than last time. From the sarcastic and witty child to this uncertain being, Alex had changed. Snake had fully heard what Alex had said, but that didn't mean he believed it.

"Do you really?" Alex nodded.

Ben leaned over and whispered into Alex's ear, though Snake could still hear. "You'd best show him."

After a moment's hesitation, Alex slid the military-issue jacket off his shoulders, freeing his newest appendages.

Snake couldn't believe it. Several thoughts flashed through his head.

The boy in front of him was looking right at him, assessing Snake's reaction. He had to be human to have such an intelligent at least be conscious.

The boy had black wings with what looked like a few white feathers mixed in. Wings! And they were spreading slowly, as if the child were controlling them. MI6 must've found his ornithology degree and selected him. Why else would he be the one to look after Alex?

Ben must be his regular caretaker- these wings had to be fairly recent. Alex certainly hadn't had them before. Furthermore, whatever changes had occurred must've been on the cellular level, or the wings would be attacked by the mutant's immune system. There was simply no way to do that... unless it were a virus. He'd read that viruses change DNA. Still, that didn't explain the wings...

All Alex saw was Snake in near-shock.

"Uh..." For the first time in quite a while, Snake found himself at a loss for words. Alex folded his wings quickly, still examining Snake's face. Finally, Snake formulated an intelligent response. "How'd you get them?"

Fox answered. "Classified. You can learn about things on a need-to-know basis."

Snake let out an almost hysterical huff of laughter. "Right. Right."

"You'll have to teach him how to fly, Snake. Think you can do it?"

"Maybe. Probably." He looked Alex in the eyes. Chocolate irises locked with his. "Yeah."

Alex allowed a small smile creep out. He could tell that Snake was intrigued by the wings, most likely on a scientific basis. "Want to touch them?" he asked softly. It seemed that shy and quiet were the best ways to describe him now.

Snake nodded at a moderate pace, trying not to look too enthused. He did like birds, after all. Ben strode up beside him quickly and placed a hand on his shoulder, mock-whispering a 'secret'. "He likes to be rubbed under his wings."

"Hey!" Alex cried, somewhat indignantly. He didn't like that Ben had so quickly revealed a very personal detail.

"Sorry, Alex. He should know that, though- he's taking care of you, remember?" Alex blushed and studied his feet instead of answering. Ben chuckled sadly- he would have liked to be the one to teach Alex. "I know it's sudden, Alex, but I trust Snake. You can trust him too."

Snake smiled uncertainly, then dropped the corner of his lips in favor of approaching Alex. He gently reached around the boy, almost hugging him, to feel the feathery body parts, rummaging around the different joints. Unlike with Ben, Alex didn't hug Snake. Snake's shaking touch lasted for a few seconds before he withdrew.

"We'd best head back to the others," Snake concluded, his previous confidence gone.

-------

Alex was at the head of the small speed boat; there were four seats behind the glass shields and a bench in the bow, or front, of the watercraft. The driver was a military man, and Wolf, Bear, and Eagle were behind the shield with him. Snake was as far from the tip as he could be, sitting in front of the passenger window. Ben was placed beside him.

The large ocean waves rocked the boat, bouncing as the small ship traversed. Alex was enjoying the rush of the air past him, along with the occasional water-splash; he was kneeling on the corner of the bench, facing the oncoming waters.

The driver shouted something, and Alex could hear it clearly. "Only a few minutes left!"

Ben was enjoying watching Alex kneel on the stern. It was something any child should try at some point; it was exhilarating to be part of the wind-breaker and feel like you're flying over the water, Ben thought. Perhaps Alex would feel like he were flying over the water eventually.

Alex opened his eyes to look at the far-off horizon, and was surprised to see the island that they would probably live on. No one else seemed to have noticed, although they were looking in that direction.

With his eagle-vision, he studied it. It was really small. He pointed it out to Ben, who squinted and looked at Alex as if he were imagining things, shaking his head to indicate that nothing was there.

Alex chewed his lip and turned to face the front once more. He wiped away a salt-drop in his eye, then half-stood on the bench while holding onto the railing to get a better vantage point.

That was too far for either of his caretakers. Snake started shifting up to him, and Ben shouted for him to get down. Alex did, after double-checking that the island invisible to human eyes was still there.

A sandwich had formed; Ben was on one side of Alex, and Snake was to his left. They both looked concerned- the soldiers in the rear just looked irritated if they cared at all.

"You shouldn't stand on the tip of the boat," Snake shouted over the engine and wind.

Ben nodded his agreement. Alex sighed, then let his mind wander.

His first thought was of the ocean water, and it eventually progressed to science as a last thought. Physics: if the force is constant- like the boat's bounce pushing the men in the bow upwards-, then the mass and acceleration were inversely related. In other words, if Ben and Alex were pushed, then Alex would move more because he weighed less.

Seconds after that last thought passed, the boat hit a particularly solid and large wave; it threw the boat up and down, and the angle put the most force on the three in the front.

Ben and Snake each were thrown upwards about one-half foot; Alex, two.

The driver shouted a warning about turbulent waters and holding handrails. It wasn't much help.

A mere second later, Alex smashed into the flooring of the entrance to the back of the boat, stunned. The now ridiculously rough waves were jostling him around, making standing near impossible. Ben and Snake were both gripping the rail as they inched toward Alex.

A new savior took action; Eagle, who sat in the passenger seat, leaned down and grabbed one of Alex's arms, pulling the boy towards himself to keep the turbulence from injuring anyone.

Eagle was shocked when he pulled the boy onto his lap. What did he weigh- 25 pounds? What the h*** was wrong with this child!

Almost as soon as Eagle had started pulling Alex up, Alex had begun struggling; if Eagle successfully roped him in, his wings would be known quickly.

It was no use. Eagle protectively wrapped his arms around Alex to secure him. Alex could _feel_ his wings pressing into Eagle's torso. Snake and Ben blanched, stunned at what had occurred.

Eagle was wonder what the kid had under his jacket. Whatever it was, it was most certainly against regulation. The child must have also sneaked the matches into that survival course from when they first met. Eagle was a law enforcement agent; he lived by the rules. Contraband items during training were strictly prohibited.

Smuggling of inappropriate items could not be tolerated.

Ticked off, Eagle tightened his hold on Alex and spoke into his ear. "Whatever it is you've got under that jacket, I'm going to find out- and report it."

Alex froze.

There was nothing to do until they reached the island.

-------

AN: Thanks for r-r-reading! (That means I rolled it.)

Egad! Everyone's finding out about Alex's wings, left and right! (Am I going too fast? I don't think so- I like this pace! After this, I'll do one more 2,500 word chapter to even off my story at 30,000 words. Then I'm going back to 2,000 words.)

**Please do not r-r-review. **But please- come back, read and reread this fic, and read my other stories!


	13. Docked

The island was perhaps a ten minute boat ride away. It felt much longer to Alex, for he could see the island before the others. He was dreading whatever Eagle would do, especially now that he'd become one of the elite law-enforcement agents. Even though showing Eagle his wings would solve the problem, he didn't like the prospect. Somehow, Alex didn't think Ben or Snake would like that solution either.

As the small watercraft approached the island's small dock, the waves evened out from their previously choppy state. The boat slowed as it approached the shore, and Wolf and Bear, who were sitting in the back, rowed the rest of the way so that seaweed would stay untangled with the motor. The boat landed.

"Everyone out," the pilot ordered. Taking the supplies with them, the six-person group stepped onto the sandy shore. They stood there until the pilot cocked an eyebrow. "You gonna set up camp or what?" He gunned the engine without waiting for an answer and left. Alex watched the boat vanish over the horizon, wishing it would take him with it.

Wolf started moving toward the woods, where the sun didn't reach the grassy foliage beneath. He waited for the rest of the group to join him before saying, "Which half do you four want?"

Bear looked at Snake and Eagle for an answer, glancing momentarily at Alex. After a minute, the youngest asked, "Are we allowed to explore first?"

Wolf grunted, "Yeah. That question wasn't meant for Cub to ask, though." Bear suddenly found some plant by his feet quite interesting; the others blushed. "Meet here at or before sundown. You can leave the supplies here. Fox and I will camp on whichever half you don't, so get cracking." He sat down under a large tree, and Ben followed his example.

"Right, then," Snake chirped. "Who's leader?"

Bear volunteered, and Eagle nodded. Alex shrugged; so long as it wasn't Eagle, he could hide his wings easily for the time being- the others had no reason to corner him.

"Snake and Cub can go left, and Eagle and I will go right along the bank, checking for good camping spots. We can meet on the other side of the island, then head back through the woods to look for water. Okay?" Alex breathed an internal sigh of relief. After a few scattered nods, the group parted.

The island was a long oval, and they had landed at one end. Alex walked slightly behind Snake, following his eyes but not entirely sure what to look for.

The sound of the waves filled the silent pair's ears until Alex spoke. "Eagle felt my wings."

"I know. I'll have a word with him in private, just let him know not to bother you about it. I won't tell him the details, though."

"Thanks."

A couple minutes passed, and once Snake stopped and marked a tree with his knife. Alex didn't bother asking why, but Snake told him it was to mark distances; they had apparently walked about a half a mile. "Keep track of the number for me, will you?"

"Sure. One."

Snake half-smiled and walked on, but his demeanor grew apprehensive when he spoke again. "You know, now'd be a good time to start teaching you to fly. I'd bet this island is at least a couple miles long, so we've got maybe a few hours."

Alex didn't reply, but took his jacket off all the same and tied it around his waist. It felt nice to open and relax his wings; in order to properly hide them, he kept them tense at all times. His new trainer eyed the unnatural appendages as they spread out to their full length, but politely looked back into the forest when he realized he was staring. Still, his eyes darted back curiously, and eventually a question popped out.

"Do you know what kind of wings you've got?"

"Hummingbird."

"A hummingbird flaps its wings very quickly, but like all birds, it flaps them in a sort of figure-eight. Maybe you should try it." He'd slowed his pace to let Alex catch up and pass him, checking the woods all the while.

Alex flexed his wings in the suggested pattern, almost curiously. The sensation was a different one. "Not bad. Can you take flight?"

"No."

Slightly taken aback, Snake nodded. "MI6 probably picked me because of my ornithology degree. If you've got any questions..." He trailed off, waiting.

"How do I land?"

His quick question brought Snake a little relief- he was in familiar territory. "Just keep flapping, really, and try to slow down as you come down. Lean back, so that when you hit the ground you won't face-plant. It'll probably take a lot of practice. In plane flight, it's often considered the hardest part. But you know, you're a bird. Well, not exactly..." Alex disliked the slip-up but ignored it.

"Nevermind- I'll aim for the water. So, take-off?"

"Hang on." Snake swallowed, stopped again, and marked the second tree. "That's one mile." He stepped away from the trees into the sunlight, though it didn't lighten his expression. "Take-off, right? Run as fast as you can, and flap your wings. Keep your feet running no matter what- don't stop until you're several feet in the air. You might hit a downdraft." He nodded once, mentally rechecking his explanation. "That's about it."

"Alright." After a pause, Alex sprinted. As his wings pushed down, he felt like the wind was lifting him. And pushing backward, too. His army boots were making lighter, closer impressions.

Suddenly, the ground seemed to drop away, and Alex was airborne! He pumped his wings harder and harder, seeking to climb into the sky, which was rapidly tipping back.

A few seconds later, Alex was lying on his back, facing the sun. One second he'd been in the air, flying, and the next, on the the ground, winded.

"Hey, are you alright?" Snake had jogged up, concern evident until he got near enough to see that the flier was fine. "That was a spectacular take-off." His awe voiced itself.

"Except I didn't take off."

"Well, aside from that, it was amazing." He offered his hand. Alex took it and was pulled to his feet. "You're flapping your wings the wrong way- what you just did was perfect for landing, though." Snake bit his lip, as if worried of seeming overbearing, but let his eyes roam over Alex.

Alex shook the sand from his wings and shuddered under the scientific gaze. When Snake seemed content to just look at him, he added, "We should probably keep going."

"Yeah." They continued walking. The bird-expert stepped alongside the bird-boy and the tree-line, analyzing both.

Alex was closer to the water, and now he could study the way the water hit the beach. The sandy depths were visible, even to a human eye; the water was clearer than most ocean shores. It was certainly clearer than Snake's feelings toward him. One minute, he was friendly; the next, awkward and unsure. It was like Snake couldn't decide if Alex were to be treated like an untrained animal, a child, or a student.

The analytical study was unnerving, too. Snake _was_ a scientist; it was to be expected. But even so, Alex had had enough of people treating him like an object. He pushed down the beginnings of anger and tried to calmly isolate the problem.

Maybe Snake was just unsure of what to do. If Alex was Snake, he'd be pretty lost about now. Plus, Snake didn't really know him- he wouldn't know that Alex didn't like to be studied, nor that Alex hadn't changed _too_ much since his 'operation'. That was probably it.

Now to remedy that.

"Snake?"

"Yeah?"

"Please don't look at me like that. It's unnerving."

"Sorry."

"I'm still human- you can treat me like a student, if you like."

Snake's eyebrows arched. "Alright." He paused, searching for the right words. "Erm, you need to fix your take-off.

"When you bring your wing down, you can push the air forward or backward. Like this," he explained. He held his arm upwards behind him, and brought it down low in front. "That would push the air forward and down, making you go up and backward. Moving your wing in this pattern makes the feathers tilt backward. That's what you were doing.

"Conversely, you can do this." Alex's eyes followed the arm; this time, it went from high in the front to low in the back. "Again, I can't show you, but your feathers sort of cup the air, giving you more lift. Plus, you can channel the air behind you- that way, it'll push you forward.

"On the upstroke, you probably should bend your wing more. When you want to go forward, angle your wing so the air will slide off the back to propel you; that's where the figure-eight comes in. Reverse the horizontal motion when you're landing, but you don't want to catch much wind on the upstroke anyway, or it'll push you down. Got it?"

Alex blinked. "Um, I think so."

Snake read the expression adorning Alex's face correctly. He reworded quickly. "Basically, flap from high-forward to low-back on the down-stroke and low-forward to high-back on the upstroke when taking off."

"Ah, right." Alex looked expectantly at Snake, who didn't notice right away. He was still looking for good camping spots.

When he did look at Alex again, he asked anxiously, "What?"

"Should I try again?"

"Of course!"

* * *

Ben sat next to Wolf in the small clearing. It felt like an eternity had passed since the other four had left. Wolf hadn't made any move to do anything; in fact, Ben thought he might even be sleeping. He cleared his throat, trying to get Wolf's attention.

"Yes?" Wolf didn't even look at him.

"Do you know how Cub got that bruise on his forehead?"

"He said he walked into a door."

"Alright." Neither really believed it, but there wasn't another explanation readily available. Ben paused, then asked, "When do I start training with you?"

"Honestly? I don't have a clue as to what the sergeant wants me to do with you."

"He said that you're to teach-"

"I know what he said, but you were there during the survival skill training." Darn him, he was right. "And we haven't learned much more than that. Mostly a bit more on how to select a campsite. It's really easy- basically, look out for things that might fall; get a specified spot, if there is one; pick an open area that won't collect water, is flat, and is open enough for cooking; and make sure there's water nearby."

"Hm." Ben privately thought most of that was common sense. "What supplies did they give us?"

Wolf bothered to open his eyes, at last. "No idea. Just survival stuff. Our things are here, and theirs, there. Have a look."

Ben started riffling through their supplies. It was mostly standard issue- food, water, a tent, a first aid kit, that sort of thing. He pulled out a walkie talkie, and Wolf added, "At sunrise, the sergeant will give us instructions for what to do with the others."

"Do you have any idea what we're to do? That accented official said three days here, right?"

"No, and no. That's what the walkie-talkie is for; the supplies are for three days, as is the declared time, but the exercise will last longer. The walkie-talkie can also be used for emergencies."

Finally, Ben broke out into a smile, realizing just how serious both of them were being. At training before he'd left, he and Wolf had been friends- that is, as good as friends can be when you're training under confidential identities in competitive circumstances. For obvious reasons, handing out personal information was a no-no, but the boundaries were less clear now. Maybe Wolf would turn out to be a more friendly guy; besides, Ben had to spend at least three days with him. Might as well get to know him.

"So- how've you been, Wolf?"

"Fine, thanks. You?" Well, Wolf had always been a bit formal.

"Not bad. You been on any missions?"

"I can't confirm or deny that." And he's professional.

Discouraged, Ben plowed on. "Well, how was the rest of training?"

"You did it too; all agents complete it at sometime. You know." But Wolf wasn't rude without reason.

"Is something wrong?"

The mask was well placed, but the hidden contempt was somewhat visible anyway. "Do you know how old Cub is? Too young for this. He doesn't belong near the military."

_So that's what it's about_, thought Ben. "He's in his teens."

"Too young." There wasn't a real answer to that, but Ben felt a need to defend himself.

"He started before I met him again."

Wolf frowned deeply. "You mean you've seen him after the first time we met too?"

"Yeah, I have." Ben replayed what Wolf said in his head. "Wait, you've seen him too?" Wolf seemed to hesitate. "Oh, come on, Wolf. If I wanted to sell him out, knowing he exists is enough."

"Yes, on a mission." Wolf paused. "Are you his father?"

Ben half-smiled. "Not biologically."

Wolf rolled his eyes. "I meant, do you look after him? You're obviously too young to father a teen; you're what, twenty-two? Twenty-three?"

"Twenty-four. I look after him now."

"'Now'? What's that supposed to mean?" Wolf studied Ben suspiciously, trying to discern a clue.

"It means what it sounds like," Ben answered quietly, completely blank-faced. Wolf squinted, as if the man before him was blurry.

"Well then, Fox, we have nothing to say until the others return."

Ben sighed. It looked like their time together would be tense and uncomfortable.

* * *

AN: Sorry. Life. Can't do weekly. Thanks!

Please do not review.


	14. Exploration

AN: There's a part that goes in Stormbreaker, right after the Killing House incident.

Many thanks to **W****i****t****h**** T****h****e**** W****h****a****t**** N****o****w**, for beta-reading my story!

http: / www . fanfiction . net / u / 1787449 / With_The_What_Now

* * *

In the end, Alex managed to face-plant several times. Not _once_ had he taken flight. Snake said he'd best wait until another time, for they seemed to be approaching the end of the island. Alex donned his jacket and spat out what sand he could. Snake was trying to contain his amusement, though it was still evident in his eyes.

Snake was impressed, though. His wings were a fascinating piece. It seemed like Alex was moulting, though; many of his black feathers dislodged during the flight practice, fluttering away to never be seen again. In fact, if he didn't know that birds keep their colour(s), Snake would say that Alex was well on his way to being white-feathered. That was as likely as pigs flying.

"I'm sure you'll be an amazing flier, Alex," Snake said, trying to encourage the clearly disappointed child.

Alex spat again before answering. Small grains of sand glinted from the spittle as it flew through the air. "Once I leave the ground."

"It takes practice." It was true – often for a time, baby birds cannot fly. "You can do it."

"Any suggestions?" Alex wasn't looking at him; he was walking slightly ahead.

Snake reconsidered Alex's misses. "You might make your flapping more vertical. Most birds can cup their feathers- it's not just up and down. And you can try skipping instead of running - maybe you won't trip as often." He paused. "And you may want to close your mouth."

More sandy spit hit the ground, accompanied by a glare. "I'll try that next time. But not now."

They lapsed into silence, Snake checking and marking the trees every so often.

"What time is it?" Alex asked.

"Maybe three or four. It's hard to tell."

"How much further do we have to go?"

"I think we were told that there're 7 miles in length, it's oval, and that we started at one end. What mark were we at?"

Alex mentally recalculated. "Twelve."

Snake nodded and wet his lips. "Then we've perhaps a half hour."

It was in a companionable silence that they walked along the beach. Snake had spotted several possible camping spots, and one that he personally liked. About three miles in, he'd seen a clearing surrounded by tall trees, almost as if it were a giant's playpen. From the beach, he could even see a shallow, likely-freshwater pond near the place.

It wasn't like water was a huge issue, though. They'd been equipped with state-of-the-art water filters. They could even take enough salt out of ocean water to make it drinkable; still, boiling was a good idea. They'd brought enough food for four days, even though Snake guessed they'd be there for three. Surviving would be a piece of cake.

"There's the end," Alex yanked Snake from his thoughts. "Do we wait here?"

"Yeah, but they might be a while. You were running a tad." Alex allowed a small smile to peek out. "If you want to spread your wings out, go ahead. I'll watch out for the others."

Carelessly, Alex dropped down on his stomach, discarding his sweater in the motion. His black and white wings snapped out like an Asian fan: one moment as slim as a stick, the next moment spread, catching the ocean breeze. Snake guessed that the sand must feel nice but taste poorly, for the bird-boy patted the bank with his wings, stirring up a fine spray of sand, before digging them in slightly and resting.

Though he'd never tell Alex, Snake was jealous of Alex's wings. He'd always studied birds for the same reason- to find out what it's like to fly. He sighed. Somehow he doubted that Alex liked his wings.

The grass is always greener on the other side, he supposed.

* * *

Eagle was working up the courage to talk to Bear about Cub's loot. He didn't know what it was- just that Cub didn't want anyone to know about it. They'd voted Bear the leader. He was the authority to go to.

But what if it wasn't just something Cub was sneaking onto the island? What if it were deeper, more important than that? Something MI6-related?

It wasn't like Cub was normal. Eagle had seen the unusually fast run and the strangely quiet demeanour. Something had happened to the child - he knew that. The question was what.

"Eagle? Did you see a good camp site?" With a jump, Eagle realised he'd been staring into the same part of the woods for a while.

"Ah, no. Just lost in thought," Eagle hastily replied. He'd talk with Cub later. Eagle was an authority figure now; he could handle it.

"Stay focused."

The day seemed to wear on. The two adults were casually walking to the other end. Eagle remembered it being about seven miles. They'd probably reach the other side mid-afternoon.

"We're in," Bear suddenly spoke. It wasn't clear what he meant, though.

"In?"

"The SAS. We're in." Eagle looked over. Bear had that strange expression on his face - the one that meant he was happy but looked like he was frowning deeply. Eagle had seen it before. Bear was thinking very deeply about the fact.

"It doesn't feel any different," Eagle commented. "It's just like before."

"You, me, Snake. Wolf. And I met Fox once, too." Now Eagle saw where the conversation was heading. Bear really took that subtle manipulation lecture to heart, he thought. It was a pity that Eagle had taken it as well. "You guys knew Cub, right?"

"Yes. He trained with us for just under a fortnight."

"How'd he do?"

"He kept up well enough." He paused, reconsidering. "Well, he was given slightly different orders."

"Like what?"

Eagle let his mind wander. "We had a survival hike. He was given extra time to walk it."

Bear paused his searching to search Eagle's soul. At least, that's how everyone felt whenever Bear turned his eyes on them. "You didn't stay with him?"

"Of course not. He'd slow us down." Bear nodded, digesting that information. His eyes wandered over Eagle's face for a long minute. Discomforted, Eagle studied the woods extra well for campsites. But the forest gave him nothing of interest. Eagle got the ridiculous impression that the trees were looking down on him.

"Did you talk about him behind his back?" The question came out of nowhere.

At first, Eagle didn't know what to say. Of course they had - all the soldiers do that, even to their own team-mates, however limited the conversation might be. Even about sergeants, if one really trusted the other person or persons present. Surely Bear knew that.

"Yes. Yes, I suppose we did."

"What did you talk about?"

"It's not a short story." _Though rather amusing_, Eagle thought privately. It made a good story, regardless.

Bear looked ahead at the seemingly never-ending beach. "I think we've got time."

* * *

_Wolf and the others had disappeared into the distance ahead of [Alex] a long time ago, even though they had been given 55-pound backpacks to carry. -Stormbreaker, pg. 56_

They'd finally ditched the brat. Eagle was glad. Wolf had started acting strangely ever since the kid arrived. If the kid hadn't fouled up the killing house exercise, though, they wouldn't have this ridiculous thirty-mile survival hike.

"The kid's a fucking dip-shit," Fox finally ground out. "I said there was a trip-wire."

"Signalled," Snake automatically corrected. He was technical like that.

"The kid should've noticed," Eagle had replied angrily. "He learned the signals, too."

"Well, he's not going to be here much longer," Fox muttered. "I'll eat my shoes if he makes this hike."

"I wouldn't say that," Eagle muttered too quietly for anyone to hear. Cub had already proved he could keep up fairly well- though this was a quite the hike, even for them. Thirty miles in eight hours meant they had to walk about four miles an hour over rough terrain and around obstacles. The average person walks about three miles an hour.

Eagle glanced over at Wolf. Wolf had been strangely quiet the entire time. Eagle wondered why Wolf had half-smiled when the sergeant was berating Cub for fouling up. It had surprised him. While Wolf wasn't nice to the kid, that was a bit much. Plus, it earned him clean-up duty.

Wolf surprised him again. "I'll take you up on that bet, Fox. You'll eat your shoes if he makes it."

Fox whipped around. He'd be walking slightly ahead, and Wolf was trailing slightly behind. "You think he'll make it? You're the one who's always saying what a pain he is." Suspicion clouded Fox's eyes. He was always wary, though sometimes subtle about it.

"I didn't say that. I said I'd take your bet."

"Which is the same as saying you think he'll make it." Fox paused, but there was no response. "What will you do if Cub doesn't make it? If you lose?"

"I'll..." Wolf trailed off. Somewhere in the deep recesses of Eagle's brain, the strange notion that Wolf's hesitation was calculated formed. He shook the silly thought off quickly. "I'll apologize to Cub for bullying him. Eat my words, so to speak."

"You're on," Fox answered. It was clear that he thought Cub wouldn't make it. It'd be fun to see Wolf eat his words – Fox was absolutely certain.

"I think he won't make it," Snake suddenly jumped in. "But I'm not eating anything if he does." Eagle figured that he ought to follow suit.

"I'm with Wolf. But I won't eat my words."

* * *

"And?" Bear asked. "Did he make it?"

Although enraptured in story-telling, Eagle and Bear still looked out for campsites and the end of the island. "We're here," Eagle interrupted the flow of his story, his tone indicating he'd finish up another time. They were trapped on a desolate desert island in the middle of the Indian Ocean. It wasn't like they didn't have time. He shouted, "Snake!"

Said man had been studying something around the corner of the forest, but his head snapped around. It was a wonder he didn't get whiplash. "Hey!" the thin, fair-haired Scottish man shouted back. For a brief moment, Eagle could have sworn he sounded nervous or even scared. But it passed, and he assumed it was the wind.

"You find anything good?" Bear shouted back. They were getting closer.

Snake looked over his shoulder and then back. Was he hiding something? "A few sites- one in particular I like. Better than average. Pretty good, really."

"We found lots of average ones," Eagle shouted back. Snake's hands fisted and uncoiled, showing tension. Now he thought Snake was acting really weird. "Is there something over there?"

"No! No, nothing at all," Snake hurriedly called.

"Where's Cub?" Bear suddenly asked.

Alex emerged from the other side of the trees. "Here." Sand covered him. He must have been lying in the sand, or he must have tripped innumerable times. Bear shot Snake a questioning look, but the other man's answer was only to shake his head.

"Alright, let's head back. Point out the campsite on the way."

Cub nodded and headed into the woods first. Bear followed quickly, disappearing into the shadows.

Snake looked directly at Eagle with a sharp gaze that sliced into his mind, his eyes hard. "I need to talk to you," he muttered just loudly enough for Eagle to hear.

"Why?"

"It's about Cub. I know you touched him on the boat."

Now Eagle was thoroughly confused. But he listened closely to Snake's next words. "Don't ask questions. Don't bother him." Eagle studied Snake for a moment. His shoulders were locked, and his eyes intensely focused on Eagle's. There was no sign of the camaraderie they shared from training. Snake was acting as if Eagle were the enemy, and it bothered him.

"Jeez, Snake. I was only going to have him show me what he brought."

The tension drained out of Snake, and his gaze dropped to the ground. "You can't ask. I can't tell you why." He paused, letting the information sink in. It confirmed Eagle's previous suspicion of something classified. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I understand." They all had secrets- it wasn't anything new. As much as this information sparked Eagle's curiosity, he was a professional. He wouldn't ask, now that he knew. It still didn't quench his curiosity. "Let's go before they realize we're not there."

Snake went on without waiting, but Eagle hesitated despite his own words. Was there something over where Snake had been looking? He didn't know.

His feet carried him around the bend. He'd been right - Cub certainly had been lying in the sand. There was a distinctly Cub-shaped imprint in the sand, though it was very shallow. Eagle knew the child weighed abnormally little. If he was to put a number on it, it'd be under fifty pounds – more like thirty, in fact. The kid looked healthy, though – maybe his bones were light or something.

The more astonishing shapes on the ocean bank were the two dips on either side of Cub's main-body impression. The sand was very dry, but there were definitely marks left from something like a sled; wide but light.

In one of the dips, a dark shape caught his eye, partially covered by the sand. Hesitantly, Eagle walked over, picked it up, and shook it off.

It was a black feather. A really, really, _really_ big black feather. It must have been a yard long, at the very least. More like 4 or 5 feet, really. And perhaps 4 or 5 inches wide, but remarkably lightweight. It wasn't from any bird Eagle had heard of. Plus, he didn't think a bird of the size the feather required would even fly out this far. They had to be a good thousand miles from any main body of land.

Eagle wasn't stupid. He _knew_ where the evidence pointed. The feather, the imprints next to Cub's body, changes in Cub's attitude, the strange lumps on Cub's back, Cub's speedy run, Snake's secrecy...

Was it possible?

* * *

Fox sneezed. It woke him out of his nap.

With nothing to do, Wolf and he had gone to sleep. It might be two or three hours before the others returned.

Wolf was still asleep, evidenced by his slowly rising and falling chest and slumped shoulders. Fox was reminded of a dropped marionette from the way Wolf had let his limbs fall- shoulders uneven and relaxed, head tipped forward lazily. He let his eyes wander around the clearing, coming to rest on his own boots.

He shuddered. Shoes brought back bad memories. Especially leather military ones.

They'd always been told in survival lectures that leather was edible. If lost and without hope, one really could eat his shoes. They actually had some nutritional value.

"Remember something?" Wolf muttered, startling Fox. He was half-smiling. Fox knew _exactly_ why.

"No, nothing at all."

"There's no shame in it. The sergeant even congratulated your 'serious' attitude, remember? 'A real survivor', I think he said."

"Ha ha." It was true. The sergeant thought Fox had been trying out real survival techniques, however ticked the sergeant was at the fact he had to replace the boots.

Wolf was outright grinning now. Fox was struck by the silly thought that his codename matched the smile. "It was hilarious."

"It was awful."

"It looked edible, after you fried it up with those herbs."

"It tasted like shit."

Wolf laughed, letting tension on his face relax momentarily. Then he grew serious. "You didn't think he'd make it."

"No, but clearly I was wrong." It wasn't like Fox wanted to reminisce on that moment.

"You know, Snake practically dies laughing every time we bring it up."

At the time, Snake had really enjoyed watching Fox lose, even though he'd lost too. "I'll bet."

Wolf raised his eyebrows. "I thought you'd've learned your lesson."

"That wasn't what I meant, and you know it," Fox muttered, but Wolf was already smiling anyway. But it vanished after a moment, as if someone had turned the lights off.

"How did you end up looking after him, anyway?"

"I can't tell you that, Wolf." Silence reigned, and they were looking anywhere but each other. They'd left the lighter topic for a more dreary one, and the atmosphere seemed to cool a few degrees.

It felt like hours, but finally Wolf spoke. "All right." It seemed like the brief moment of friendship was fading.

"Ah, Wolf," Fox stuttered out. "I've been wondering for a while- did you really think Cub would make it? That hike, I mean." A silly question, but Fox didn't want to spend the next three or more days with someone he was on bad terms with.

For a long moment, Fox wasn't sure Wolf would answer. But Wolf looked up and met his gaze. Something in Fox's expression seemed to decide him. "I didn't think he'd make it."

"Then..." If Cub didn't make it, then Wolf would've lost the bet and been forced to apologize to Cub. And, Wolf thought Cub wasn't going to make it. Since Wolf thought he was going to lose... Wolf _wanted_ to eat his words? _Wanted_ to apologize to Cub? A lost bet would be the perfect reason in front of his unit, but it'd also be an apology – a dent in Wolf's pride. No way. Fox's mind was running in circles, and his tongue felt like it had shrivelled up.

"As much of a bastard you may think I am, I have some sense of honour." But Fox didn't know about Wolf's stunt in the Killing House. Not that Fox was thinking clearly enough to wonder about that statement. He was stunned by the revelation that Wolf _wanted to apologize_ to someone.

It was kind of sweet, really, Fox thought. Wolf both respected Cub and thought him weak. It was a tad ironic.

It suddenly hit Fox that Wolf was waiting for him to say something; Wolf was staring at him impatiently. "I just... I never thought..." It was clear that Fox was in some sort of shock.

Wolf rolled his eyes. "I get it. You can shut up now."

And Fox did.

* * *

Alex had taken the lead. He knew where the site was - he'd also seen it. But the island's forest was like a grassy plain of trees and bushes; at least, that's how close he felt the plants were to one another. It was also very muggy. The air felt thick.

There weren't many things he liked about his situation. Even the sun wasn't there to warm him - in the shade, the sunlight couldn't reach him.

There was one good thing. To his surprise, there were few insects bothering them. He'd seen some crawling about, but none tried to bite. It was quite pleasant, though the quiet was unnerving at times.

Without many insects, he supposed the lack of animals made sense. It was like the biology teacher had said - the area/distance island effect, or something. Islands closer to mainlands with larger areas have the greatest number of species. He'd been on his lunch period, heading to his next lesson, when a younger year's teacher explained the concept to her class. He could learn a little from listening, even if it wasn't his class.

That reminded him - what about school? Ben and he hadn't brought any textbooks. He was still in school, technically. Maybe it would be a short trip.

The blond looked over his shoulder at his companions. They'd probably stay longer than he would.

Speaking of them, Snake and Eagle were far back, he noticed. Eagle was farther back than Snake, and he was looking suspiciously at Alex. The boy swallowed.

Then he tripped.

The bird-boy didn't realize what had happened until after he was on the ground._ So much for animal instinct_, he thought glumly. He was aware that the footfalls behind him had sped up and halted next to him. After a moment, silence ruled the atmosphere. Alex knew he was blushing. He could only imagine what the others were thinking.

"That explains the sand," Bear proclaimed. "You should look where you're going."

Alex sighed and rolled over. "We're here – this is the campsite I was talking about," Snake noted. "We should look around."

They'd probably spend a few minutes exploring the area, so Alex rolled onto his back to look up at the sky. It wasn't like they would be asking his opinion any time soon.

The small glimpse of blue sky was nice, but one of the trees caught his fancy. It looked like a brown cumber with bent toothpicks sticking out of it. The bark was wavy, and it bore red and green fruit.

Ian taught Alex a little botany: which plants were edible around the world. Scorpia had taught him more of that, and which were poisonous. Now, Alex searched his memory for the correct plant. It couldn't be...

"Are those... _mangoes_?"

* * *

AN: **Please reuse the Stormbreaker-bet-insert idea in your own story!** It'd be really neat to see what everyone thinks SAS men talk about, and I want to see who you think bet for/against Alex.

It really fits into the Stormbreaker book- you can totally misinterpret Snake's "I didn't think you'd make it" comment! Even though it's narrated that "Alex couldn't help but notice a certain warmth in the [Snake's] voice." Though maybe that warmth is because Snake won while thinking he lost... I dunno. Here, it's because it's funny to watch people eat shoes, and Snake wanted to see that, though I never explicitly explained. PM me a link if you do!

Thanks to **With The What Now**.


	15. Nighttime

Alex sighed deeply and gazed out over the horizon at the setting sun, which was framed nicely by the trees and foliage. The stars were twinkling merrily, as if to complement the lovely evening breeze. It was Alex's first night at the island. They were starting real training tomorrow.

Alex hoped it would go well.

"You got a preference of rations?" Bear interrupted. Startled, Alex whipped around, only to find that Bear, who was heating some food, was speaking to Eagle. Eagle shook his head, and Alex relaxed, facing the water once more. He was sitting at the edge of the clearing, and the sunset lit his face.

They'd settled down in the clearing Snake had seen. The men had set up camp with large tents that looked more like small mountains, and a fire like a beacon in the night. Alex's discovery of mangoes had only added to the reasons to choose the space. They'd confirmed the place with Wolf and Ben, and the pair had settled on the other side of the island. They didn't know where.

"We're in the middle of nowhere," Eagle murmured softly, almost mournfully but not quite. No one answered him.

Alex shifted as the sun seemed to plummet suddenly. The sunlight bouncing off the water became a bit too bright for his sensitive eyes. He turned to study to others.

Eagle glanced over for a moment, but Bear concentrated on the rations. Snake was napping in one of the two already-pitched tents.

Eagle blinked a few times, then looked at Alex again. Then he closed his eyes, counted, opened them again, and dry-swallowed. Alex was watching him intently, wondering what was wrong. Eagle had gone whiter than snow.

"C-Cub?" the man managed, the syllable strangled and quiet. Bear looked at Eagle, and then to Alex. His expression read 'shock' through and through.

"What?" Alex asked quietly. He didn't know what they were going on about. Uncertainly, the boy stood and walked towards their seats by the fire.

The bird-named man froze, but Bear surprised Alex by jumping up and assuming a defensive stance. "Who are you?" Bear grunted.

"What's going on?" Snake muttered sleepily, sticking his head outside of the tent. He glanced at Alex. "Oh."

More loudly than before, Alex queried, "What?"

Eagle managed to break his silent stance to raise a finger, pointed at Alex's head forebodingly. His mouth opened, but no sound came out.

"What!"

"Y-Your eyes, Cub. They're- they're-" Snake managed. The sun was dropping further, and the trees began growing dark.

"_Glowing_," Eagle squeaked, as a mouse would upon realizing the great shadow in the sky is a predatory eagle.

"Very funny," Alex churned out. "When did you come up with that?" Surely, his eyes didn't glow. What were they talking about?

Snake slithered the rest of the way out of the tent, and walked up to Alex. The two men behind him relaxed minutely, if at all, now that Snake separated them. Alex could very clearly see their expressions despite the dark. Bear looked like he'd just seen his worst nightmare. Eagle resembled a corpse scared to death.

Very gently, Snake's hands rested on either of Alex's shoulders. The man swallowed. Alex could very clearly see his Adam's apple. And now he was speaking. But Alex had no interest in the words; to him, they were muffled.

He could see Snake's deep, dark eyes far too well.

* * *

"Cub, your eyes really do glow," Snake had started to say. "They're luminous. They- they're emitting light. Your pupil - it's a yellow circle; your whites are dimly glowing. I don't know how to get it through to you." It didn't seem he was getting through at all.

"Cub!" he hissed. The boy was looking into his eyes without listening, seemingly transfixed, and Snake could feel a bit of tension in the boy's shoulders. Both were nervous. Snake squeezed Cub's shoulders harshly, hissing his codename once more.

The pair of lights, which hovered in the Cub-shaped silhouette outlined by the starry sky and shining sea, flickered a few times, and only then did Snake realize Cub was blinking. Without warning, a pair of lukewarm hands were on either side of his neck. Stunned, Snake froze. What on Earth was Cub doing?

Cub wasn't choking him. He didn't seem to be trying to hurt him, either. He was pulling the taller man downwards, closer to his own face. Unsure, Snake let him continue.

The eerie eyes grew closer. Snake could feel fear growing within himself, despite knowing that Cub wouldn't harm him. The boy was very much invading his personal space. The crazy thoughts of kissing and vampires crossed Snake's mind before he dismissed both immediately.

When their noses almost touched, Snake whispered, "Alex?" and broke the spell that had befallen them. They both fell back - Snake, to the relative comfort of the fire's brightest reaches; Cub, to the ground.

The boy let out a huff of laughter. "I don't believe it."

"Believe what?" Bear asked cautiously.

"My eyes. They glow."

Realization struck Snake hard. Cub had been using Snake's eyes as a mirror. "Oh," the man finally managed.

Cub seemed to be looking for something to say. Or maybe he was just as speechless as the rest of them. But after a long moment of motionless silence, Cub stepped forward to the fire and poked it with a stick from the ground. It had burned down a bit, but it flared up once more, lighting Cub's face in the creepiest way imaginable, never-mind the flare in his eyes.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you?" Bear asked after a long minute.

Cub fidgeted, scooting away from the fire. "No."

"Last time..." Eagle began, the rest of his sentence lost with the words on the tip of one's tongue and the answers to obscure History test questions. "Last time..."

"I can't tell you anything." If it wasn't for the firelight and the lip-reading practice the soldiers had had, Snake didn't think that any of them would have been able to discern what the boy had said. "I really can't," the boy added, more softly than before. Snake wondered if he wanted to tell.

Bear was clearly struggling with his composure, but he managed to squeeze out a sentence. "Then tell me this: are you dangerous to us?"

Snake surprised himself. "No, he's still a child." Cub's two glowing eyes whipped around sharply to look at him, pleasant surprise etched into the creases of his face.

Snake almost missed the small smile before he turned back to the fire and jabbed it with another branch. The fire flared once more, and again, the soldiers couldn't help but stare at Cub's reflective eyes. It made Snake wonder more than ever what had happened to the boy. He'd quite clearly changed in the last year, and more than just human growth.

Cub had gotten wings. Now his eyes were glowing.

What else had changed?

Maybe-

Bear's stomach growled. The man started, startled by his own body. Snake smirked. "Aren't we hungry?"

Bear inclined his head, staring at Cub. "Yeah. Yeah, we should eat."

Very carefully, very deliberately, Bear handed out the packets. Eagle never once took his eyes off of Cub. Snake knew they were wary of the boy, but even so, Cub _was_ just a child...

* * *

Ben glumly eyed his ration. It was better than a lot of them - and certainly better than the ones he'd trained with - but that didn't mean it tasted like real food. It was heated, thankfully, though the flavour wasn't very different.

"When's the last time you had one of these?" Wolf asked. Ben felt himself relax, releasing tension he hadn't even been aware of. At least Wolf would talk with him despite his MI6 affiliations.

"I forget. Not since training, I believe."

"No wonder. You're opening it from the wrong end." Oh.

Sure enough, Ben found that if he studied the dark package he could see a faint "Tear here" at the other end. Only now did he remember that the lighter side was the one the rations were opened from.

"Ah, yeah." Quickly, Ben flipped the food around and tore it open, chagrined by his small failure. If only he could see in the dark - then he would've seen the text. It was very dark out already, and the stars were about the only light source besides the fire. Ben wished he had -

Night vision.

Reflective retinas.

Glowing eyes.

_Alex_.

The man straightened up faster than a bolt of lightning. "We have to check on the others," he stated clearly.

Wolf looked up from where he'd begun eating his ration. "What?"

"We have to check on the others," Ben repeated, voice completely devoid of any emotion.

"Why?"

Ben hadn't quite thought that through. "Because- because..."

Alex's wings were a classified matter, certainly. But his eyes were something that couldn't be missed. How could it be explained? Did it need to be explained?

What if Eagle and Bear had found out already?

"Because what?" Wolf insisted irritably.

"Because Cub has had a lot of changes in the past year. He might be _different_ than last time, and I don't want the others to worry."

Wolf didn't looked concerned. "They'll be fine. Snake's in charge of Cub, anyway."

"Snake doesn't know the full story."

Wolf sighed. "Look, Fox. It's a fair walk. We'd have to go together. And besides, it's late, not to mention dark and -"

"_Precisely_," Fox interjected rudely. Wolf _had_ to let him check on Alex.

* * *

Alex just finished his last bite of the ration when he heard something. A twig snapped, far in the distance. He sat bolt upright and looked around.

Needless to say, his movements hadn't gone unnoticed. "What?" Bear warily asked.

"You didn't hear that?"

"No."

"But it was so-" Alex stopped as he hear another sound. _Footsteps_. And they were definitely getting louder.

"What do you hear?" Snake inquired after Alex had paused for a while.

Alex dry-swallowed before answering. "Footsteps. Of two approaching people." _Tap-tap-tap-SNAP-tap_...

Bear opened his mouth to reply. "I don't hear-"

"They're running. Definitely." _Tap-tap-thud_. "And not watching where they step."

Snake sighed. "Look, Cub. There's nothing here. Exercises don't start until tomorrow."

"But..." What else could he say? Clearly, only he could hear them.

"Are you done eating?" Snake finally asked. "We should get some rest. The sleeping bags are already in the tents."

"Are you _sure_ you can't hear _anything_?" Alex desperately asked. His complexion was frightening enough - glowing eyes, and all - but this pitiful look was oddly human.

Bear sighed, his expression confused. Then, without warning, it changed to a look of shock and surprise. The tall man whipped his head to look at Snake, looking between him and the direction the sounds were emerging from.

Snake, too. He abruptly twitched, looking in the same direction.

Alex worried about Eagle. He'd barely said anything. "Eagle?" The requested man turned slowly to look at Alex, but looked down almost immediately.

But Alex had seen. Eagle wasn't taking this well at all. Though Alex was no medic, he'd seen the dilated pupils, surrounded by worried creases of skin. Even now, he could make out the man's lips, on which he was chewing. Eagle was sweating lightly, too, and trembling minutely.

In all honesty, that didn't scare Alex too much. Jack had taken it nowhere near as well. It was the smell, really. He hadn't noticed it before, not while he was concentrating on the footsteps.

The scent of fear.

_Fear_.

It was like a cold: fast-spreading, contagious, and freezing. Alex really couldn't help it- he froze in fear, too, though he knew that the footsteps must be those of Wolf and Ben.

Fear was easy to find - not hard to come by at all. And so was reason for fear. Truthfully, Alex was frightened on an instinctive level because Eagle was. It was only after that he found another reason for his fear.

_Taptap-taptap-taptap-TAPTAP_. There were two people.

And one of them didn't know his eyes glowed.

* * *

AN: Thanks to **Nightstar113**, for encouragement; to many other FF authors, for their beautiful language; and to my beta-reader, **With The What Now**.

Apologies for the long wait, for the nasty cliff-hanger, and for the not-a-perfect-thousand word count.

**Please do no****t feel obligated to review.**


	16. Glowing

Wolf was very, very confused.

Fox had barely explained why they might need to check up on Cub. There wasn't anything wrong with him, right? Fox had only stated that Cub might be different from last time.

Sure, the kid had run very quickly, but he'd just been practicing, surely. Wolf firmly ignored the fact that no teenager should be able to run _that_ fast.

"Fox," he called between pants, "why are we running?"

"It's dark, that's why," Fox answered. Wolf frowned deeply. That was no answer.

"Still, why-"

"Just _shut up_ and run." Something was very wrong. If Fox was being rude, that mean he was very, very upset.

A few minutes later, they arrived at the edge of the clearing.

Cub was sitting on the ground, facing the fire with his back to them. The boy seemed frozen, perhaps even nervous. Eagle sat to his right, studying the earth with the same posture. Bear crouched, watching their arrival as if they were unexpected despite their not-so-quiet footsteps.

Snake, who was by the tents, greeted them. "Hey. Good evening."

Fox didn't return the salutation. He just nodded and immediately crouched in front of Cub.

"Cub? You okay?" Cub nodded quickly, though jerkily, like a two-picture flip-book. Up, down, up, down...

Fox grabbed the boy's chin, stopping him. "You don't look it." Wolf could see Fox's eyebrows knit together. "Are you _scared_?"

"Wolf - doesn't -" and the young voice cut off abruptly, like a faucet turned off. His words certainly weren't flowing smoothly. He sounded nervous.

Fox glanced at Wolf. "Yeah, I know. Do the others know?"

Wolf couldn't make out the answer, but it sounded negative. "_What_ are you talking about?" Wolf punctuated his question by walking around to look at Cub. But before he could see the boy's face, Fox suddenly embraced Cub and pulled him to a standing position.

Wolf snorted. "Cub doesn't need _mollycoddling_, Fox. He's at an SAS camp, for crying out loud!"

"I think the situation is fine, Wolf. Let's go back."

"Fox." It was Snake who had spoken this time. "Let him see. Better he find out now than on a night exercise."

Wolf studied his own shadows as they danced on Fox's back. He had walked between the pair and the fire. "Well?"

Fox hesitated, looking over his shoulder at Wolf for a moment then at Cub, expression unreadable. Cub had clamped onto him. "Snake's right, Cub."

Wolf let out an impatient sigh, a bit louder than necessary. He jumped when Snake put his hand on his shoulder, making his presence known. "Don't freak out."

Fox and Cub separated slowly. Fox lingered by his side.

Was that-

No.

_No way_.

Wolf knew he'd gone ghostly white. "Are you wearing contacts?" If this was some kind of prank...

Cub shook his head. He had yet to meet Wolf's gaze. "Eye-drops?" Wolf asked. Again, a no. "Then _what_?"

Fox answered for Cub. "It's classified."

"_Classified_!" Wolf exclaimed. "Don't tell me he's some kind of _mutant_!" Cub shuffled behind Fox.

"No, he's not a mutant, but his... circumstances are classified. You know his eyes glow. I can't tell you why." Fox paused, then studied the rest of the group as if they were unknowns. "For that matter, I can't tell any of you anything about our backgrounds. That's mutual."

"Look, Fox. His eyes are glowing. That's supernatural. Do you honestly expect me to just _accept that with no explanation?_" Wolf's voice squeaked at the very end, but he felt it was justified.

Fox sighed heavily. "Yes."

Before even Wolf could register what he was doing, he brushed off Snake's hand and past Fox to stand before Cub.

Cub stared up at him with wide, bright eyes. He looked terrified. It took a second for Wolf to realise that he was gripping the kid's upper arm with one hand and the side of his head with the other. Then he realised that Cub's neck had a strange feel - like that of touching several sheets of paper lain on top of one another. But before he could look more closely, Fox pushed his way in between them.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" he asked, voice low and dangerous. "Cub's situation is _classified_, which means that you don't get to ask questions. You don't get to investigate, Wolf."

Snake walked over to stand alongside Fox. Wolf got the distinct impression of a wall. "I'm sorry, Wolf, but Fox is right."

"No."

It wasn't Wolf this time. Eagle had spoken. He hadn't looked up.

"Eagle?" Wolf asked.

"No," the man repeated. "You can't just leave us with that. I know there's more." Eagle could be very difficult to read at times.

Fox swallowed, and Snake glanced down. They were hiding something, Wolf surmised. "And what else is there?"

"We can't tell you," Fox answered without really answering. "And Eagle? If you really do know, then don't say anything. Ever." Fox paused for a moment, then studied Eagle for a moment. "Are you all right?"

Now Eagle looked up. "Do I _look_ all right?" Wolf had to admit, Eagle wasn't taking this well. He had intense worry lines, and he looked scared. He also didn't sound okay.

Snake took over, walking over to where Eagle crouched and crouching beside him. "You don't look all right." He smiled, attempting a reassuring expression. He looked as if he was in pain. "But for Cub's sake, can you calm down and just accept he's a little different?"

"Easy for you to say - you _know_ what's going on," Eagle retorted.

Snake's smile lost its shine completely, not unlike tarnished silver. "I don't know everything that's going on, Eagle."

Wolf heard a sigh near the tents, then realised they'd _completely_ forgotten about Bear. But it appeared he wasn't worried. "Does this really matter all that much? He's not a threat."

It was true, Wolf had to admit. But Bear - he just - Cub -

_Stop it_, Wolf thought to himself. His thoughts were tripping over one another, none able to finish the race to his mind's spotlight. Wolf paused, gathering the swarming ideas.

Cub wasn't normal anymore. He'd changed. His eyes testified to that.

But he didn't seem to harbour any hatred toward the other soldiers. Wolf looked around the clearing.

With a jolt, Wolf realised everyone - except for Cub, who was studying the dirt quite meticulously - was looking at him with varying degrees of uncertainty. He was their senior officer. They wanted a verdict, a course of action.

"Cub is..." Wolf swallowed, uncertain. "He's not a threat. He..." Wolf was out of his comfort zone. Soldiers deal with enemies and war, not supernatural kids.

Fox spoke up. "He's not a threat, so you lot should accept he's just a bit different and not question that."

"_Excuse me_, but that's not normal. You've got to tell us how he got that way," Eagle retorted.

"I can't! It's classified!"

"Then, Snake. Won't _you_ unravel this mystery?"

Snake chewed his low lip. He was frustrated. "I don't know the story, Eagle. I couldn't say anything even if I did."

"I'd like to know the story too, Eagle, but it's not important - Cub isn't going to hurt us."

"Bear, what are you _thinking_? You want to sleep next to a - a-"

"Eagle." Wolf's commanding voice shut everyone up. He had a knack for that. "The others are right. Cub's situation is classified. We have to take it for what it is."

Eagle stared, open-mouthed at Wolf for a moment, blinking. Then he too came to his senses.

"Right. Sorry, Cub." Eagle leaned over to look around Fox and Snake. "Cub?"

"It's fine." Cub was still looking at the ground. His toe, which was digging into the ground, told Wolf that Cub was not comfortable with the situation. Not that any of them were.

Wolf let out a long breath, drawing the attention of everyone. "Well, since this matter is resolved, we should get some sleep." A few heads bobbed up and down in agreement.

With a sharp nod, Fox led Wolf back to their camp. Cub watched them leave. Wolf could tell. His glowing eyes betrayed his line of sight.

* * *

Not much later, Alex was ready to sleep. He was exhausted after the long day. At least Wolf hadn't pushed too hard and hadn't found out classified information – namely, the circumstances under which Alex had been sent here. The others had left him alone for the time being since Wolf and Ben had left. The sun had set, and the moon was up. Alex relaxed a little bit. In the middle of nowhere, nothing could touch him. Languidly, he leaned against the log by the fire and watched as Bear put it out.

The embers glowed very softly, then emitted great billowing clouds of steam when mixed with water. The stars twinkled above; the forest whistled softly. To Alex, it felt like a giant lullaby. It was very strange - he'd _never_ felt the desire to sleep so strongly before, not even after consecutive late nights of homework.

"Cub?" Snake suddenly appeared in front of Alex, but he didn't have the energy to jump. "You okay?"

Alex blinked slowly and muttered, "I'm exhausted."

With disinterest, Alex watched as Snake glanced over his shoulder at the other two who were getting into their tent. Another tent awaited Snake and Alex.

"Birds are often very sensitive to light." Snake paused. He seemed hesitant; his lip would blister if he kept chewing it like he was. Finally, at Alex's eyebrow's prompt, he asked, "Do you sleep in a crouch?"

Alex disbelievingly snorted. "What?"

Snake closed his eyes and squeezed his lips shut for a minute before trying again. "You're like a bird. Most sleep on branches, in a sort-of crouch. Some even sleep upside down if their grip slips." He opened his eyes and looked at Alex, whose mouth had dropped open. "So, do you?"

Alex couldn't help but laugh at Snake's wild accusation. "No! No, of course not. That'd be ridiculous."

Snake broke out into an amused smile. "Yes, I suppose so. But you see where I'm coming from, no?"

Alex yawned. "Sure, whatever you say."

A small huff escaped from Snake's nose. He leaned a little closer to Alex and whispered, "I'm just thinking about sleeping arrangements. I think we have to sleep in our clothes or else your wings might be too noticeable. We can claim that it's cold at night or something."

Alex nodded. He was too tired to care anymore. With another yawn—one larger than the previous—, Alex stood and ducked into the tent.

It was a very small tent. The walls would hug two adults snugly, if they slept on their backs. It was almost like a little cage: Alex froze once he was halfway in. He couldn't sleep here. No way. _No way_.

Snake bumped into him from behind, causing him to fall into the tent and break out of his trance. Blinking, Alex sat up to an apologetic Snake.

"Sorry, I didn't think you'd stop like that," he muttered, eying Alex worriedly. "Is something wrong?"

"No, not at all," Alex replied a little too quickly. He didn't really want to sleep in a tent—in a small, enclosed space. But he could deal: Snake would be with him. It wasn't like his summer in a cage. There, he couldn't leave, either; here, he could.

But even so, it was with slight trepidation that Alex climbed into the tent for a long night's sleep.

* * *

AN: Sorry for the long wait.

You might have noticed **Rosiedude** adopted my story. I guess I sort of hijacked it back, but you should all go and thank her for giving me a kick up the pants, per say. Please replace any review you would have given me with one for any of **Rosiedude**'s stories as a great big "THANK YOU" to her because it's because of her that I actually posted this.

I also want to thank all of you who have held on and those of you who have contacted me/reviewed, because it's also because of you lot that I wrote something.

Anyhow, in March 2012, I'm going to pass over ownership to **Rosiedude** if I don't finish this on my own before then, because that's when I'll be having major life changes that will preclude writing. I'll still leave what I have on my account, and I'll be sure to let you know when I'm ready to transfer.

This is un-betaed. Sorry!

Again, _review one of Rosiedude's!_


	17. Water

For about a week, Snake, Alex, and Ben would go off to one part of the island while Bear, Wolf, and Eagle would either take a boat to another island where they would train with or against other units or train on one side of the island. Sometimes Ben would accompany the out-of-the-loop group for regular training, but more often than not, he acted as Alex's cheerleader.

"That's it!" Ben shouted up into the sky. "You got it!"

Alex was hovering – a benefit of having hummingbird genes was that he could flap his wings faster than the human eye could see. It was only a few days after Snake first teachings that Alex managed to fly in a figure eight, and two days later Snake taught him to hover.

But landing was rough. His wings, fully extended, would touch the ground before his feet, making any sort of landing difficult. As Snake put it, he had to drop out of the air just above the ground. So far, his attempts had ended in crash landings – that is, falling flat on his face or hands. Thankfully, the soft sand almost cushioned his light weight and seemed to prevent severe injury.

"Move forward over the ocean!" Snake shouted up to Alex, a solid thirty feet above them. Ben and Snake were standing on the sandy beach, watching Alex hover. "Try to find uplifting winds and glide!"

After a moment of hesitation, Alex shakily flapped his wings at a different angle and began to pick up speed, heading out over the ocean for a loop around. He performed a slow, unsteady u-turn as he got further away. Unlike a real bird, he flapped through the manoeuvre, rendering it clumsy and far from graceful. His body hung down awkwardly: the opposite of a streamlined bird. Snake said that the angle might put damaging stress on his wing-joints, but he didn't have a suggestion as to how to remedy the issue.

"Do you think he can do it?" Ben asked Snake, eyes still on Alex.

"I don't know. His wingspan area to weight ratio is much lower than your average flying bird."

Ben glanced over nervously at Snake. Sometimes he couldn't understand from where Snake drew conclusions. When Snake uncrossed his arms in alarm, Ben looked over the water quickly.

Alex was falling – no, racing toward the water. As far as Ben could tell, he was doing exactly as Snake had asked: holding his wings out to the side, angled slightly with a great deal of forward movement. But it didn't seem to help.

"Flap!" Snake shouted, startling Ben. "Flap!"

Maybe it was the sea breeze or the ocean spray, but Alex didn't seem to be able to hear Ben and Snake. He was resolutely trying to glide, though it was apparent to the onlookers that he was plummeting down. This was his first time over the sea, too.

"_Flap!_" Ben shouted, as loud as he could. He accompanied the alarm with ridiculous arm motions.

Just as Alex was about to fall into the water, he got the message and flapped his wings. But it was too late. Like a coin into a wishing well, Alex disappeared from view.

"Alex!" they chorused in unison.

MMMMM

The water was surprisingly welcoming and warm. It even looked nice, like a Mediterranean blue. But it was similar to a brick wall in the way it greeted Alex. It slammed into him.

First his feet, then his legs, wings, and head. He went completely under. Deep under.

With some degree of alarm, Alex opened his eyes when he felt something slippery brush against his legs, not thinking about the water. The water stung and burned for all the blurry sight it gave him. It was extremely dim under the water, testifying to how far away he was from the surface.

There was a fish or whale or dolphin of some kind. It was gray, big, and above all, blurred.

The creature seemed to be moving to swim away, but it suddenly turned to face Alex. Much faster than Alex could have anticipated, it swam to him. Alex unwisely gasped in shock. Bubbles streamed up to the surface, signalling Alex's air loss.

It got closer and closer, and Alex could see it was opening its mouth – huge! Not friendly, then.

Desperately, Alex kicked and instantly discovered the drawback to having not-waterproof wings: they created a ton of drag underwater, even as he tried to fold them so he could streamline. Even his buoyancy was being dragged down by the friction between the water and his feathers. But he couldn't evade the creature, whatever it was.

So Alex did the only thing he could think of.

With great haste, Alex snapped open his wings. Unlike the gray blob heading toward him, the motion was slowed tremendously by the water, and he couldn't really move as well. But the motion had the intended effect. The creature seemed hesitant, and it seemed to slow for a moment. Alex had just about quadrupled in size.

Alex could feel the pressure in his lungs. He needed air. But he needed safety, first. With great desperation, he tried to flap his wings underwater.

His frantic motions didn't have the intended effect. Not only did he feel like he was not moving, but he also felt the need to breathe even more greatly than before. And it only seemed to confuse the creature further, rather than scare it away.

Then things took a turn for the worse.

The creature – whatever it was, Alex still couldn't tell – chose to swim _right above Alex_. And Alex floated really well – he was rising slowly toward it.

Without thinking, Alex inhaled through his mouth.

_And he inhaled water_.

Alex squinted, but everything remained just as murky as before. With some trepidation, he tried to inhale again, but he could feel the water seeping into his respiratory system, and his reaction – normal for a human – was to cough. The bubbles streamed up above him and into the creature.

What the creature was, it didn't like that. Alex could have sworn he heard some sort of moan as it swam off.

Vaguely, Alex remembered something from Biology class. Fish. But the lack of oxygen was getting to his head, and he couldn't really remember the details. Instead, he kicked for the surface.

It seemed like forever before he reached the surface. His wings were practically dead weight. He'd accidentally breathed in water twice more without gagging, too, but he couldn't do it on purpose yet.

Alex gasped and coughed when he broke through the surface of the ocean. Faintly, he could hear someone calling his name. And splashing, too.

"Alex!" a very near voice shouted. "Alex!"

Alex recognize the sound. "Ben!"

Over a crest, Ben appeared. "Alex! Are you all right?"

"Yeah," he called back, just as a wave washed over him, pulling him back under for a moment. But as buoyant as ever, he bounced up to the surface. "Ben – "

"Here!" Ben held out an inner tube. Alex couldn't believe he'd missed it. "Grab on – you must be exhausted." Alex held on tightly, but he was so light that it didn't really help him float. Ben seem to sense this, and he continued to hold on anyway.

"Thanks," Alex sputtered. "There's something in the water below us!" he shouted.

Ben's expression would have been worth gold in blackmail, but Alex didn't have a camera. He had more important things on his mind. Like getting back to shore quickly.

"I'm going to try to take off," he told Ben. The older man nodded and held onto the tube, securing it as best he could. Alex sort-of belly-flopped onto the tube and raised his wings behind himself. The appendages dripped and dribbled audibly. Then he snapped them down. He managed to get enough lift on one downstroke to pull himself partially out of the water.

But he couldn't raise his wings fast enough to catch another downstroke. They were heavy with water, soaked through and through.

With a clumsy splash, Alex plopped down in front of Ben once more.

"You can't fly with wet wings?" Ben asked.

Alex shook his head, feeling oddly shaken and scared.

He wasn't quite sure when he'd started thinking of his wings as a infallible way to fly out of any situation – a means of escape, if necessary. One that he could rely on. A security. Insurance. After all, that's what birds use them for most often. He'd chased enough pigeons in his youth to know wings were their means of escape from children.

And now, it seemed, the very same wings were his watery doom.

MMMMM

Ben wasn't quite sure what was on Alex's mind. Since they'd gotten back on shore (swimming with great haste, though Alex was strangely slow), he'd changed his demeanour entirely. Instead of active and ready to leap into the air on Snake's suggestions, he didn't seem enthused about flying at all.

Though, Snake hadn't suggested flying after that. He too seemed a bit shaken about the whole ordeal. It wasn't surprising, considering it had been on Snake's suggestion – gliding – that they'd almost lost Alex.

But now Alex's wings were dry. Or mostly, at least – he'd been sitting in the sun with them spread for what felt like forever. They still had a few hours before Eagle, Bear, and Wolf returned from whichever island they'd slunk off to this time.

To Ben, they were wasting time.

"Shouldn't Alex practice a bit more?" he finally prompted. The other two were sitting on the beach. He was standing, making an equilateral triangle betwixt the three.

Snake looked up at him. "I think we could use a break for the rest of the day."

"That's what night is for: rest."

Snake frowned. "But we just had a very scary experience, per se. A break might be well-advised."

"Alex?" Ben asked. Alex didn't even seem to hear him.

"Alex?" Ben tried again. "What do you want to do?"

Alex started drawing something in the sand. "I..." he trailed off.

Ben sat down in the sand next to him. "Did the thing in the water scare you?"

"Not too much."

"Do you feel all right?"

"Yes."

Ben drew in a deep breath and let it out very slowly. He looked at Alex's wings.

Some of the feathers had turned white. It was a very strange sight to behold – a mixture of black and white feathers, like a parrot who'd forgotten to organize his feathers in a black-and-white film. Ben realized that the feathers actually _did_ look like an old movie, complete with white flecks where they didn't belong.

"Snake, come look at this." Ben reached out and took hold of one of Alex's wings. It felt like there were little grains of sand all over the feathers. Alex didn't look up, instead continuing to draw in the sand.

Snake scooted over next to Ben and stroked the wing gently. He furrowed his eyebrows. "I think the salt dried in the feathers. Look, you can see some of them aren't as neat as before. The salt has pushed some of the barbs apart, so the vane doesn't look right."

Ben looked at Snake. "Come again?"

"The little string-like bits on each feather extending from the rachis."

"Snake..."

Snake sort-of hugged Alex's right wing and tipped it a little bit, spreading out some of the feathers. He gently pushed some of the feathers aside to expose one feather from near where it was attached to Alex's skin. Alex flinched, but made no move to stop them.

"This stem-like long part of the feather is called the rachis." Snake ran a finger down the slightly raised centre of the feather. "All of these little things coming off of it that connect in a mostly solid flat shape are called barbs, and together they are called the vane." He traced the smooth part of the feather. The vane had three or four breaks in it. "Then, near the base, the fluffy not-so-smooth barbs are called afterfeather."

Ben nodded. "So you mean that Alex's feathers look messy because his wings aren't smooth anymore, and the salt has messed with his feathers."

Snake nodded, still holding the feathers apart. "Exactly. I think that instead of taking that break, we might want to spend our time preening. Does Alex have any means of preening?"

Ben nodded. "He's told me that you can just use fingernails to do it."

Gently, Snake took hold of his model feather and gripped near the rachis with his fingernails, drawing them away.

Sure enough, the separated barbs stuck together again.

Snake looked delighted at the outcome. "Of course! The barbules will be bigger on a human-sized bird, so we can lend Alex a hand."

"Can I take a nap?" Alex asked quietly.

Snake looked at Ben. Ben looked at Snake. They had a silent conversation, just like old times, reading each other's face.

Finally, Ben asked, "You don't want to help us preen your feathers?"

Alex looked up at them. "It's not like I wanted wings to begin with," he snapped. "I didn't get a choice."

Snake looked at Ben, shocked. "You mean MI6 forced this on him?"

"No!" Ben exclaimed. "It was an accident."

"If by 'accident' you mean MI6 not giving a damn about back-up."

"Alex, that's not what I meant."

"Fine – but it still stands that I would have chosen normality over – over _this_."

Snake closed his eyes. Ben could tell he was upset – he knew Snake had high morals. "I – I just never would have guessed." He looked at Alex, who was still picking at the sand. "You never gave any indication that you didn't like having wings. In fact, I remember you laughing the first time you took off."

Alex didn't answer.

"What changed, Alex? I know you liked having wings at some point." Snake finally asked. He started to preen Alex's feathers a little bit, almost absent-mindedly, as if he were only seeking to do something with his hands. "Was it the gliding?"

Alex shook his head no.

"Did the novelty wear off?"

Again, Alex shook his head.

Ben sighed. Snake wasn't getting anywhere, and Ben had a pretty good guess as to what was wrong. But first, he asked, "Alex, is it because your wings can't do everything you wanted them to?"

Alex didn't move. He even stilled his fingers in the sand.

Ben waited, but Alex didn't answer for a long time. "Alex?"

Finally, Alex answered quietly, starting to draw once more. "It – it was really cool, you know? After I got over the whole 'my life just changed forever and I can't go back' thing. I hated them when I first got them – they made Jack go insane."

Snake looked at Ben, but Ben shook his head and mouthed, "Later" to him. Snake nodded, and continued to listen to Alex.

"And I hated them when they plucked me out of society. But then I could fly. I could really fly. I could fly and go anywhere I wanted; I can hover like nobody's business. And maybe I can't glide, but I can still take off and land."

Ben nodded, realizing that Alex was letting out a lot of emotion, despite his monotone. "But?" he asked gently.

"I can't swim," Alex answered, his voice whispery and soft.

Ben replied, "But you held your breath for a long time."

Snake frowned and furrowed his eyebrows as he fiddled with another feather. "And you float."

Alex looked up, and to Ben's shock tears were flowing from his eyes. Then he looked down again. "But – but my wings. They make so much drag that I can't _move_ in water. I'm useless. And I can't even fly if they're wet." His voice cracked. "Now I'm just a useless freak again."

"Hey, it's okay, Alex," Snake tried. "You can still fly. And it's amazing that you have wings."

Alex didn't answer. He just curled up into a ball, ceasing his sandy art. Ben felt his heartstrings being tugged at, and he kneeled in front of Alex and wrapped his arms around him. "You know you're not a useless freak. None of this is your fault."

Alex didn't respond verbally – instead, he jumped up onto Ben's lap and hugged him back, burying his face in his shoulder. Ben just held him there, sliding one hand up to hold Alex's head against his neck.

Snake, who'd lost track of which feather he was preening, shifted forward and commented, "So what if he can't fly through the water? He can still fly."

Ben looked down at the boy in his arm, who was also gripping him like a lifeline. He thought about everything Alex had been through

"I don't think it's just the water, Snake."

MMMMM

AN: Aw! Some emotional development.

Just out of curiosity, what do you think Ben means by his last line?

(I know what I was thinking when I wrote that, but I'm curious to see if you get to the same conclusions.)

Drop a review, if you want to.


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